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BV 652 .L37 1926 
Leach, William Herman, 1888 


Church administration 








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CHURCH ADMINISTRATION 
WILLIAM H. LEACH 





we sth A see 
er fai 


CHURCH 
ADMINISTRATION 


A Survey of Modern Executive Methods——~>> 


BY f 


WILLIAM H.*LEACH 


EDITOR, CHURCH MANAGEMENT 
Author of “How to Make the Church Go,” “Putting It 


Across,” etc. 





GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT, 1926, 
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


CHURCH ADMINISTRATION 
pacediy « abo 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


| TO 
EDWARD E. BUCKOW 


Whose codperation made possible 
the studies represented here, this 
volume is sincerely dedicated 


Digitized by the Internet Archive 
In 2022 with funding from 
Princeton Theological Seminary Library 


https ://archive.org/details/churchadministra00leac 


PREFACE 


Many are the books on Church Management 
which have been issued in the last few years. Each 
one has made its contribution to a subject which is 
still new when compared with the years of history 
of the Church. By force of necessity most of them 
have been personal experience volumes. A minister 
has developed a plan of church activities which has 
proven unusually successful. Naturally all of his 
fellows are interested in his plans and are eager to 
read his suggestions. 

In this respect the book here offered is unique. It 
brings together the experiences of many successful 
ministers, arranging the material in a way which 
will be the most useful to others in the field. Most 
of the plans are interpreted through the experience 
of the writer but he lays no claim to originality in 
presenting them. In as far as he has had informa- 
tion he has credited each plan to its source. 

As it was not the first, neither will it be the last 
book in this field, but it does offer a substantial con- 
tribution to the growing interest in the various 
phases of church leadership. 

Wiser alee 





CONTENTS 


PART I: THE MINISTER AS A LEADER 


CHAPTER 


I 


N Dw 


The Job of Running a Church . 
In the Parish and with His Fellows 
The Minister as a Shepherd . 


PART 1: "THE SERVICES OF THE GHURCH 


Making the Service Count 
Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings . 
The Midweek Service . 

Evangelism the Year Around 


PART III: SPECIAL PROGRAMS 


Special Days and Seasons 
Young People’s Work 
Keeping the Men Interested 


PARI IVOPUBLICURY 


Effective Publicity Plans 
Advertising ‘Technique . 
Uncle Sam as the Minister’s teat 


PART V: ADMINISTRATIVE DETAIL 


The Church Dollar 
Spending and Accounting 
Efficiency Machines 


INDEX 


PAGE 
13 
24, 
34 


51 

igi 
100 
115 


1330 
165 
185 


201 
22.7 
237 


255 
27% 
283 


299 


04 \ 
i i id he 
eas 


aly 
ly ile 


a 





Part I: The Minister As a Leader 





CHAPTER 1 
THE JOB OF RUNNING A CHURCH 


THE development of the administrative side of 
the minister’s work is a matter of comparatively 
recent date. Most of us can remember when the 
two great divisions of his task were preaching and 
visiting. Then there came the time when folks 
spoke of some ministers as being good organizers. 
In those days the organizers were the men who had 
special “knacks”’ for certain tasks. When once that 
“knack” was appreciated as an asset to the minister, 
recognition of the importance of the executive func- 
tion quickly followed. It may be the part of truth 
and wisdom, however, to treat this phase of ac- 
tivity, not as a separate and new thing, but only as 
a broader interpretation of pastoral service. 

The first field of church work to receive the new 
emphasis was finance. I had just read a book en- 
titled Church Finance. It is a recent English pub- 
lication and is issued for propaganda purposes to 
put the churches on a more sound financial basis. 
Its chief emphasis is on the weekly envelope system 
of giving. Argument after argument is given to 
show the wisdom of the new system. The entire 
argument parallels the experience in our American 
churches of twenty years ago. If history again 


repeats itself the installation of a new financial 
13 


14 Church Administration 





system will lead there, as it has in America, to a 
new conception of a minister’s duties. 

We have by no means reached any great heights 
in this new philosophy. The lines are not clearly 
drawn. But we are working toward an end. Many 
things are being tried. At times we are made dizzy 
by the variety of things in church activities, but out 
of it there will come a philosophy of parish admin- 
istration which will be stable and worth while. 
There have been many strange things done in the 
name of “modern church methods.” But we ought 
to expect these in an age of experimentation. 

Church organizations have not had the genius 
for execution. They have been built up for worship 
and evangelism. While many denominations have 
had a polity which might function as a working 
organization, officers who had been elected were 
selected with an entirely different purpose in mind. 
The Presbyterian church has its elders, the Baptist, 
its deacons, the Methodist, its official board. Men 
were chosen to these boards not for executive quali- 
ties but because they possessed the character which 
gave dignity to the office. One of the strangest per- 
versions of this is seen in those Presbyterian 
churches which elect their elders for life. The 
qualities sought might be the scriptural ones of 
“good report, wisdom and the spirit,” but in the 
mind of the congregation these qualities were de- 
fined by piety, regular attendance at the church and 
the ability to testify in prayer meeting. Seldom 
were they chosen because of ability to organize and 
put across a program for the church. 

But modern conditions have forced the Church 
into a new situation. It no longer was merely a 
place of worship. There were many organizations 


The Job of Running a Church is 





finding their head-up in the church. Clubs, socie- 
ties and classes were organized as individuals were 
moved to see the need for them. Some one would 
think that a young people’s society was a good thing 
and one would be organized. Each church was sure 
to have a woman’s society. There was the Sunday 
school with its various classes. Each of these went 
its own way without much regard for the others 
and without any clearly defined relationship to the 
church. Remembering Paul’s symbolism of the 
Church, we found in some churches the hand saying 
to the foot, “I have no need of thee.”’ We saw con- 
flicts in purpose between societies in the same 
church. 

Now the point is this. These agencies usually 
became rather independent. The ruling board of 
the church kept itself to the details of taking care 
of the property and running the services of worship. 
The Sunday school ran the Sunday school; the 
Men’s Club ran the Men’s Club, and the Ladies’ 
Aid ran the Ladies’ Aid. The minister was the 
point of contact between the several organizations, 
but he could not stop the overlapping and the actual 
hostility which at times developed between various 
organizations regarding the use of the building or 
the conflict of nights or even regarding the au- 
thority of each. I have in mind as I write a church 
in which there is a pronounced feeling that there is 
competition between the men’s Bible class and the 
service of worship. The class actually rejoices if it 
has a larger attendance than the morning service. 

As far developed as the modern Sunday school is, 
church people as a whole do not appreciate its ex: 
pression as a function and activity of the church 
but as a separate institution, oftentimes selecting its 


16 Church Administration | 
er 
own officers and running its own affairs. This sit- 
uation shows one phase which proved the need of 
putting the church on a more effective organiza- 
tion. It is one of the problems which the Church 
is confronting. It is going to meet it by getting 
an executive conception of its task. In this par- 
ticular instance, I believe that this will lead to the 
organizing of all of the activities of the church 
from a central directing force. For instance, we 
will have in the main organization, departments 
such as 

A department of Worship, 

A department of Education, 

A department of Men’s Work, 

A department of Women’s Work, 

A department of Young People’s Work. 

It is an easy matter to overdo the departments. 
It is better to have too few than too many. In the 
average church the young people’s department might 
be eliminated and the work put under the depart- 
ment of education. In others there will be a dis- 
tinct need for a separate department. All of these 
departments will head up in the official board. If 
the plan provided by the denominational policy 
works, well and good. To use it eliminates ex- 
pensive machinery. But if necessary a new organi- 
zation should be built up. It is interesting in this 
respect to see that in the largest Baptist church in 
New York state the ordinary Baptist organization 
has not proved sufficient, and to the Board of 
Deacons and the Board of Trustees there has been 
added a Board of Centurions for executive action. 
In my own churches (Presbyterian) we have been 
able to use the regular denominational organization, 
even going to the length of combining the Board of 


The Job of Running a Church 17 








Elders and the Board of Trustees into one board 
for the administration of the affairs of the church. 

The pastor is the directing head of the official 
board. His title is usually considered that in the 
denominational policy. If he is a poor executive, 
he will ignore the board; if he is a good one, he 
will so organize it that it will give real direction to 
the affairs of the church, studying its temporal and 
spiritual prosperity, and not consider its task done 
when the collection plates have been passed and the 
prayer meeting testimony given. 


THE CHURCH: ‘CABINET 


The Church Cabinet which has been so successful 
in many churches is really a quasi-official organi- 
zation necessary because of insufficient denomina- 
tional organization or imperfect functioning of the 
present machinery. The cabinet is usually com- 
posed of the president and one representative of 
each organization in the church. This gives each 
organization a voice in determining the policies of 
the church. 

The Cabinet will meet once a month and each 
society in turn presents its plans. Some work will 
be collectively undertaken, and thus the whole 
church will be put to work at a single task. While 
there is unquestionably a value to the Cabinet it 
can never be more than a voice under present 
systems of organization. Its decisions never have 
legal point—merely the value of moral appeal. 

Its greatest service will be in eliminating con- 
flicts of dates and overlapping of programs and a 
sympathy which is created among the various bodies 
of workers. It has valuable publicity value, but 


18 Church Administration 

SSS ooo 
the church which desires to put itself in position 
for administrative efficiency will have to go deeper 
than this plan offers. 


GETTING THE MOST OUT OF COMMITTEES 


To the churches which are seeking some effective 
way to get things done without challenging their 
present and denominational form of organization, 
we would recommend the use of special committees. 
This plan will fit in with any scheme already func- 
tioning. But it will provide specialists in execution 
where church democracy merely provides freedom 
for expression.’ 

For instance, in a church of the Congregational 
form a committee could do ina week what the entire 
meeting could only debate about. The congregation 
can, however, authorize a committee, giving it 
power toact. Inachurch of the Presbyterian form, 
execution is apt to be delayed by individual eccen- 
tricities of the personnel. But the board can ap- 
point a committee which can do things. Many times 
the minister will have the authority given him to 
name the committee. This is his chance, by all 
means, 

The most effective committees are the special ones. 
appointed for particular tasks. Standing com- 
mittees take their name too seriously. They are 
apt to think that Christianity is a position rather 
than a movement. But a special committee made 
up of good live men will start things and finish them 
as well. 

1 An extended discussion of Committee Organization and Management 


may be found in the author’s book, Putting It Across, published by the 
Cokesbury Press, 


The Job of Running a Church 19 





THE CHALLENGE OF MODERN CONDITIONS 


A second thing which has brought the challenge 
for modern methods to the Church has been the 
complexity of modern civilization which is destroy- 
ing long standing traditions and tearing people away 
from age-long habits. The Church has found itself 
confronted with an open Sabbath with all kinds of 
recreation places pleading for support. The un- 
precedented wealth of the country has made auto- 
mobiles common and good roads are plentiful. The 
multiplication of lodges, welfare associations and 
similar movements has given means of altruistic 
expression which in the more primitive days were 
found in the Church alone. The Church has 
frankly realized that 1t must use every resource to 
hold its own and to service its purpose in a strange, 
yet fascinating, era. 

This has led to several new methods of church 
expression. It has revolutionized church architec- 
ture. Church basements have been converted into 
club rooms. It is indeed a poor specimen of a 
church which to-day does not include a dining-room 
and kitchen in its social equipment. The strangest 
development is seen in the business temple which is 
appearing in so many American cities. Chicago 
claims to have the first of these great buildings in 
its Methodist Temple; Christian Reisner has raised 
five million dollars for the Broadway Temple in 
New York, a colossal, yet beautiful, creation. 
Rochester, New York, now has a business temple; 
Syracuse for some years has had a combined hotel 
and church in the First Baptist Church; Pittsburgh 
is building one; Cleveland is contemplating one. In- 
deed, there is probably not a city of any size in 


20 Church Administration 





America to-day which is not seriously considering 
a church of this type. : 

Many architectural atrocities have been com- 
mitted in the name of modern church building but 
the newest tendency is to combine architectural 
beauty and ecclesiastical dignity with the so-called 
American cathedral. Architects, such as Ralph 
Adams Cram, strenuously protest against this new 
type of building. They feel that we are throwing 
away an inherent, esthetic and social quality 
which we should conserve, and one which really 
is one of its greatest publicity assets. The protest 
is well made. It will not stop the building of this 
new type of church which seems to fit the needs of 
a new day but it may help to bring about a com- 
promise between ecclesiastical art and business 
efficiency. 


CHURCH ADVERTISING 


Another feature of this new emphasis is found 
in the almost universal custom of church adver- 
tising. Saturday night papers now usually carry 
considerable display space, some churches using 
copy challenging the displays of the business world. 
Dr. W. L. Stidger, well known to most ministers, 
frequently has two columns in the best Saturday 
paper. Dr. James L. Gordon, in San Francisco, 
spends $10,000 a year for advertising. An inter- 
esting development is the work which is being pro- 
moted by the Church Department of the Associated 
Advertising Clubs of the world. The Church De- 
partment is composed of men—mostly writers of 
advertising—who have felt that they might make 
some substantial contribution to the progress of 
the Church through their art. They not alone seek 


The Job of Running a Church JA 





to interest the Church in investing in advertising, 
but actually produce layouts which they offer to 
churches and individuals without cost or at a very 
slight charge. 

In this opening chapter we are trying to analyze 
some of the new developments and are not endors- 
ing unreservedly any particular type of activity. I 
think that is one thing the thoughtful churchman 
will seek toavoid. There is an unquestionable value 
in advertising, but one should not jump to conclu- 
sions too quickly. A page of display advertising 
cannot make a poor church a good one, nor a cold 
church a friendly one. Advertising is a legitimate 
tool for any church, but the wise minister will make 
sure of his internal organization before he relies 
too much on the printed page. 


VARIATION IN EXECUTIVE METHOD 


As one would naturally expect, there are many 
varieties of ministerial executives. The public 
mind oftentimes confuses a type for the entire 
movement. There are the ministers who make their 
direct unique appeal to the public and build up 
feature services to keep them coming. They are 
accused of being spectacular, but the casual ob- 
server does not know the entire inside story of the 
careful preparation they go through to make their 
appeal psychologically correct. Great crowds many 
times follow these men and they are referred to as 
using modern methods. 

On the other hand, there are men who work more 
on the inside. The individuals are not advertised 
so much, but they have the splendid executive 
faculty of keeping an organization functioning and 


SAM Church Administration 

ah SN a eel 
they are constantly working through others. Their 
means of publicity are quiet, yet effective, and they 
build great, strong organizations. These men are 
also using modern methods but are developing a 
different type of work. Both varieties are making 
a contribution to church organization. I, for one, 
would not want to say which is doing the better 
work. 

One of the delusions which has come to us 
insists that executive ability is incompatible with 
sound scholarship. To call a minister a “popular 
preacher” means to many men that he is not a 
student nor a profound preacher. There may be 
something to substantiate this; at least, it is true 
that men who have not had the faculty of profound 
thinking have laid hold of unique programs and 
used them. But there is no real reason for be- 
lieving that splendid preaching and good executive 
ability might not be found in the same individual. 
It would be a just comparison to say that a good 
university executive could not as well be a good 
scholar, Some of the best preachers I know are 
the most capable administrators. 

Much has been said about the superiority of the 
British preachers over the Americans and some 
will tell you that this is because they do not have 
the detail of parish duties. I will admit the con- 
clusion but not the premise. I am an admirer of 
the good British expository preacher. But I find 
the same superiority in literature and on the stage. 
In the field of practical science the Americans sur- 
pass; in speculative science the British are the 
masters. When one passes on the qualities of 
preachers he must recognize these other fields of 
activity. Any supremacy in preaching will be ex- 





The Job of Running a Church 23 








plained on the same grounds as the supremacy in 
literature, art and science, and not by the duties 
imposed by parish administration. 

If any damage has been done the Church in this 
respect it has been done by individuals who have 
confused executive methods with stunts. Without 
thinking their problems through, they had instituted 
one idea after another just to set things going. But 
the day of these things is passing. Seldom do we 
see any more the freak text announcements of a 
few years ago. We would forget them entirely if 
some individual writer who has lost track of the 
parish didn’t call them to mind from time to time as 
he delivers his lectures on preaching or preachers. 
Neither is good executive leadership incompatible 
with profundity or piety. It is a virtue which can 
strengthen the church and strengthen the individual 
minister so that he can be of much more worth to 
his church. In the succeeding chapters we will try 
to point the way toward plans and methods which 
may help the minister to master the situation. 


CHAPTER 2 


IN THE PARISH AND WITH HIS 
PELLOWS 


THE new order of things is throwing upon the 
minister new social and professional relationships. 
It may seem strange but it is a fact that the priest- 
hood, representing the ministry, is the oldest pro- 
fession in the history of mankind and yet has no 
carefully worked-out schedule of professional work 
nor of ministerial ethics. There is probably no line 
of work wherein the individual is left so free to 
shape his own course. There is no profession in 
which his relations with his fellow men and co- 
workers is so loosely defined. There is no ethical 
pledge required of ministers. There is no legal code 
to define their charges nor their relation to their 
clients. 

In recent years there have been a few attempts to 
define his moral obligations. Just how successful 
these attempts are we will have to leave to indj- 
vidual organizations to decide. Here is one which 
was adopted by New Haven, Connecticut, Asso- 
ciation of Congregational Ministers, It is fairly 
comprehensive in that it treats of the minister’s 
relation to his own work, his relation to his parish, 
and his relationship with his fellow men. 

24 


In the Parish and with His Fellows 25 


SSS 





A CODE OF ETHICS 
The Minister and His Work 


t. Asa minister controls his own time, he should 
make it a point of honor to give full service to his 
parish. | 

2, Part of the minister’s service as a leader of 
his people is to reserve sufficient time for serious 
study in order thoroughly to apprehend his message, 
keep abreast of current thought, and develop his 
intellectual and spiritual capacities. 

. It is equally the minister’s duty to keep 
physically fit. A weekly holiday and an annual 
vacation should be taken and used for rest and 
improvement. 

4. As a public interpreter of divine revelation 
and human duty, the minister should tell the truth 
-as he sees it and present it tactfully and construc- 
tively. 

s. It is unethical for the minister to use sermon 
material prepared by another without acknowledg- 
ing the source from which it comes. 

6. As an ethical leader in the community, it is 
incumbent on the minister to be scrupulously honest, 
avoid debts and meet his bills promptly. 

7, The minister should be careful not to bring 
reproach on his calling by joining in marriage im- 
proper persons. 


The Minister's Relations with His Parish 


1. It is unethical for a minister to break his con- 
tract made with the church. 

2. As a professional man the minister should 
make his service primary and the remuneration 


26 Church Administration 


secondary. His efficiency, however, demands that 
he should receive a salary adequate to the work he 
is expected to do and commensurate with the scale 
of living in that parish which he serves. 

3. It is unethical for the minister to engage in 
other lines of remunerative work without the knowl- 
edge and consent of the church or its official board. 

4. The confidential statements made to a minister 
by his parishioners are privileged and should never 
be divulged without the consent of those making 
them. 

5. Itis unethical for a minister to take sides with 
factions in his parish. 

6. The minister recognizes himself to be the 
servant of the community in which he resides. 
Fees which are offered should be accepted only in 
the light of this principle. 


The Mimster’s Relations with the Profession 


1. It is unethical for a minister to interfere di- 
rectly or indirectly with the parish work of another 
minister; especially should he be careful to avoid 
the charge of proselyting. 

2. Ministerial service should not be rendered to 
the members of another parish without consulting 
the minister of that parish. 

3. It is unethical for a minister to make over- 
tures to or consider overtures from a church whose 
pastor has not yet resigned. 

4. Itis unethical for a minister to speak ill of the 
character or work of another minister, especially of 
his predecessor or successor. It is the duty of a 
minister, however, in flagrant cases of unethical 
conduct, to bring the matter before the proper body. 


In the Parish and with His Fellows 21 





5. As members of the same profession and 
brothers in the service of a common Master, the 
relation between ministers should be one of frank- 
ness and cooperation. 

This code is really quite broad and makes a good 
basis for the construction of the ethical professional 
relationship. With most of these the thinking min- 
ister will find himself in agreement. There will 
never be any definite conclusion as to what con- 
stitutes sermon plagiarism. Not all ministers will 
agree that every time another’s material is used 
acknowledgment must be made. Some of the out- 
standing instances of plagiarism have been entirely 
unconscious. Courts have been unable to settle 
the question in the field of literature, and it is not 
to be hoped that a group of ministers can settle it 
in an hour’s discussion. The main thing to be re- 
membered is that the sermon, which is the product 
of creation regardless of where the raw material 
came from, is free from the blight of plagiarism. 

Many will find it impossible to avoid taking sides 
with factions, and others will consider it immoral 
not to take sides when a real issue is involved. I 
suppose that sometimes a real issue is involved in 
such instances. Many will not agree that the min- 
ister must first gain the consent of the official board 
before doing other work, such as lecturing and 
writing, for which he receives compensation. But 
for the most part all of these statements are good 
and are working toward the right end. 


OTHER MINISTERS 


In the parish the minister has a relationship 
toward three types of ministers. First, there is his 


28 Church Administration 


predecessor. Second, there is his successor. And 
third, there are his minister neighbors while he is 
in the field. The first two can be considered 
together. 

When a man becomes the pastor of a church he 
is entitled to all the recognition that the office of- 
ficially brings him. He is the pastor. His prede- 
cessor has a sentimental relationship. He will have 
a warm place in the affections of his people. A min- 
ister needs to recognize this but sentiment need not 
replace justice and courtesy. No two ministers have 
the same way of working. Nor will they think alike. 
He will find many decisions of his predecessor that 
he cannot approve. But there is no obligation upon 
him to show disapproval. Should the predecessor 
come back into the parish for a visit, he should be 
shown every courtesy, invited into the pulpit to 
preach, and be in every way treated as a distin- 
guished guest. 

On the other hand, the minister who has left the 
field should recognize that he is no longer the pastor. 
He should never permit himself to return to the 
parish in a way which would look as if he were 
interfering with the work of the pastor. Should he 
receive a request to return for a funeral or a wed- 
ding, he should at once make his return conditional 
on the fact the present pastor is invited to be present 
to take charge. If the request is made and the 
pastor refuses to cooperate, then he may be justified 
to keep the appointment. Ministers cannot be too 
careful about these details which hurt severely the 
feelings of some of their brethren. 

When a minister leaves a parish he owes it to 
his successor to leave it in as good a condition as is 
possible. He will leave parish records in good con- 


In the Parish and with His Fellows 29 





dition. He will encourage the congregation to greet 
their new pastor in a spirit which will insure suc- 
cess. If the church is one of the reformed system 
where it may be a number of months before a min- 
ister is placed, he will have a lay organization ably 
built up to keep the parish strong during the interim. 
If the congregation falls away in these months, no 
minister ought to pride himself that it was his per- 
sonality which had kept things going. Instead he 
ought to recognize it as his failure if things went to 
pieces soon after he left. 

The breakdown of denominationalism has made 
the relationship with his fellow ministers rather 
precarious. There is always the temptation to step 
into another’s pasture and pick the choicest of the 
flock. There was a time when, if a Methodist came 
to town, it was assumed that he would continue to 
be a Methodist. That holds no longer, however. 
Denominational lines do not mean very much. 
People are constantly changing from one denomi- 
nation to another when the second offers advantage 
of location or some other virtue. 

The live and alert minister naturally wants his 
church to grow. He wants the new people coming 
to town to interest themselves in it. How can he 
do that and not lay himself open to the charge of 
proselyting? If the new family is of his own de- 
nomination, the way is clear. He can go and 
directly invite them to unite with his church. If 
they come from another persuasion, it is perfectly 
legitimate for him to invite them to attend his 
church, leaving their decision for membership to 
their good judgment later on. The ambitions of 
some ministers to rush people into the Church be- 
fore they have the chance to make the decision in the 


30 Church Administration 
TS 
strange town is to be condemned. It is the pastor’s 
Christian duty to help the new family to find suit- 
able church relationships. If he feels that they will 
be more at home in some other church, he may well 
encourage them the other way. In the end he will 
be rewarded for dealing fairly in this respect. 

More and more ministers in the same city who_ 
exchange members are taking the opportunity of 
talking it over between themselves before the change 
is made. I recall with gratification the courtesy of 
a neighboring minister who always did this. He 
would call me on the phone. “I have a request from 
Mrs. who desires to join our church. Did you 
know that she contemplated leaving you?” This 
would be his form of introducing the question. The 
result was that in some instances the change was not 
made, but the two ministers passed back and forth 
in each other’s parishes without any suspicion. 





FEDERATION OF CHURCHES 


Many of the points of conflict which might arise 
between ministers may be smoothed out if referred 
to the local Federation of Churches. Where there 
is no stich organization the local preachers’ associa- 
tion may do a great deal to arbitrate matters. H 
a church sets out to survey a community, it may 
arouse suspicion; but if it is a codperative effort the 
cause for suspicion is destroyed. 

Such a survey is always a good thing if it is 
codperative. Rev. Orvis F. Jordan has described 
the one conducted by the ministers at Park Ridge, 
Illinois. It is a simple one which might well be used 
elsewhere. With several Protestant ministers co- 
operating, the water list of families was secured 


In the Parish and with His Fellows 31 
SS 
from the city hall. These names were typed off, and 
each minister then checked the families he knew 
were connected with his church. Of course, there 
were some families claimed by several churches. 
The parents were divided in some instances. In 
one instance the son of a pillar of the Methodist 
Church was found in the Sunday school of the Com- 
munity Church. The Community Church lost a boy, 
but it gained the respect of its neighbors when the 
boy was advised to go back to his parents’ church. 
After all the names were checked it was found a 
third of the homes were not yet accounted for. The 
Catholic priest helped out by checking off his fami- 
lies, By this process of elimination the list left for 
the callers was comparatively small, but it repre- 
sented the families left to be reached. These were 
encouraged to find a church home and left to them- 
selves to decide which church it would be. 

A cooperative effort of this kind is also very 
essential in laying the plans for a new church. Any 
church planning a new building or a denomination 
planning a new organization should take the present 
existing churches into its confidence. Only in this 
way can frightful and expensive overlapping be 
avoided. In those cities where there are local fed- 
erations the committee on committees usually makes 
recommendations in regard to the matter. There 
is here a big opportunity for improvement. The 
best residential sections are soon overchurched 
while the poorer and needier sections go begging 
for proper religious facilities. 


IN THE PARISH 


In every respect the minister must deal fairly with 
his parish. To be fair, at times he may have to be 


32 Church Administration 


severe. I do not mean that he should allow him- 
self or his family to be abused. He is there as the 
minister of the church and his main duty is to make 
the church go. He will decide in most instances 
just what his duty is. The minister who always 
has his ear to the ground to find out what people 
are thinking about him will be of little service to the 
church or to God. It is a senseless and foolish 
opinion that everybody is the minister’s boss. The 
sooner he stops trying to please everybody and de- 
votes himself to doing the work of the church, the 
quicker will he gain the respect of his parish and 
do his work effectively. 

There may be times when a minister, perfectly 
innocent, will be forced to defend his reputation. 
He should move quickly and directly to stop any 
malicious slander which may be in the air. Usually 
the best way to move in such instances is to put the 
matter before his official board and show them, at 
once, the necessity of defending his good name. 
They should not hesitate to resort to court action if 
necessary. It is altogether too easy for smooth- 
mouthed gossips to play free with the minister’s 
reputation. 

The one thing which will lower the respect people 
have for a minister will be his little hypocrisies. — 
Every minister is tempted into these. He may try 
to appear just what the people would want him to 
be instead of openly being the kind of man he knows 
he ought to be. It never pays. The time is ripe for 
manly men in the ministry. I do not mean that 
people want ministers with vices—even little vices— 
but neither are churches seeking ministers who yield 
their manhood to the smug hypocrisy of little Chris- 
tians who like to lay down every rule of behavior 


In the Parish and with His Fellows ao 
SS LLL 
for the preacher. They would dictate his clothes, 
his recreations, the education of his family and 
other matters of which he is the better judge. He 
must remember that God made him a man before he 
was ordained as a minister and he should preserve 
that manhood jealously. He cannot yield in these 
things. 


SENDING MEMBERS TO OTHER CHURCHES 


The minister will be constantly sending members 
to other churches. Families will move from the 
parish. He does not discharge his duty when he 
bids them good-by at the church door. Tt is but a 
matter of a few minutes to locate their new home 
and find out what church is near by. He hasa duty 
to tell them of these churches and should urge them 
to visit the churches and, if they feel satisfied, to 
ask that their church membership be transferred. 

At the same time it would be well to send a letter 
to the minister of the church recommended calling 

attention to the move and urging that he get in 

touch with the new family. There are so many 
opportunities for people to get away from church 
that every minister should feel it his obligation to 
help his families into friendly church relationships 
in their new homes. 


CHAPTER 3 
THE MINISTER AS A SHEPHERD 


THE question of the attitude of the minister 
toward parish visitation has been an open one from 
the time of Paul to the present day. There has 
always been a class which has sought to show that 
such visitation 1s unnecessary and that the minister 
in his busy life of to-day should not be called upon 
to doit. I think that out of the confusion we can 
reach a number of rather definite conclusions. 

1. It is most desirable that the minister shall 
have a contact with his people. If it is not secured 
through pastoral calling, it must be secured some 
other way. 

2. The minister who gives considerable time to 
parish visitation may not preach as well-developed 
sermons but he will have a sympathetic point of 
view which will atone for their imperfection. 

3. Every minister must protect himself from 
much of the demand which foolish people put upon 
him. 

In brief, the minister must keep a contact with 
his people and still must not let the social side drain 
him intellectually. The demands of the modern 
parish are heavy and exacting. The minister is 
under all kinds of temptation to forget about the 
pastoral side. If he does so he is neglecting a 
matter which will cause suffering to himself and 
to the congregation. 

A great deal can be said in favor of the monoto- 
nous routine of pastoral calling. The minister may 

34 


The Minister as a Shepherd 35 





have to force himself to do it and at the end of the 
day in discouragement may write a zero after his 
experiences. But every day something is happen- 
ing which causes a tragedy in the parish. There is 
sudden death or affliction. The call which he made 
as a matter of routine may have been the introduc- 
tion which makes it possible for him to go as a 
pastor in the time of grief. It is as well to avoid 
the character of being “invisible in the week and 
incomprehensible on Sunday” as it is to shun the 
constant running about which detracts from serious 
work. 


A WORKING SCHEDULE 


Whatever decision a minister may make as to the 
amount of personal calling he will do, he must care- 
fully budget his time and try hard to live up to his 
plan. Let him set aside certain days for calling, 
certain hours for study, certain hours for himself, 
and then keep close to these hours. He will have 
to decide just how his work shall be divided. What 
will make a good schedule for one man may be a 
poor one for the next. Bernard C. Clausen, in his 
Technique of a Minister, allows but one afternoon 
a week for parish visitation and this is devoted to 
the sick. 

A carefully made program assures a minister of 
adequate time for study. One is apt to overestimate 
the amount of time which must be spent in hard 
study to produce two or more good sermons a week. 
William Robertson Nicoll was unable to do much 
parish work through the long winters in his first 
Scottish parish. The result was that he not alone 
got out his sermons but found time to contribute to 


36 Church Administration 


the journals of the day. Frederick Lynch, in op- 
posing the idea that no minister can produce two 
sermons a week, tells of his own experience. In his 
first parish he decided to put in three full mornings 
of four hours each in hard, systematic study. But 
let him tell about it. 

“Day after day, week after week, month after 
month, we worked away on this. It became so 
fascinating that we found ourselves going to work 
even in the afternoon and evening. But the point 
we want to come to is this: before one month of 
such study was up our mind was so swarming with 
new ideas, so packed with new truths, so illumined 
from these great sources, so active in its processes, 
that instead of having to search for topics on which 
to preach twice each week we really cried for an 
opportumity to preach every day.” 

The minister who makes a schedule for himself 
and forces himself to live up to it will have time for 
many things which now he thinks he has no time for. 
If he believes that parish visitation is wise, he will 
find time for that. 

There are sickness and death calls which the 
pastor will always be ready to respond to upon in- 
vitation. When these emergencies occur in his 
parish he will go to his own people without invita- 
tion. He must not go asa stranger, but as a friend. 
It will require tact and good judgment in every case. 
There will be times when he will need to talk of 
death and to pray. There will be times when he 
must refrain from doing this. There will be those 
who desire the communion. He will be prepared 
to administer this sacrament. Man is very seldom 
tried as is the conscientious minister when he at- 
tempts to help people adjust themselves to the reality 


The Minister as a Shepherd B7 





of misfortune and death without resorting to con- 
ventionalism which can offer little comfort. 


SPIRITUAL HEALING 


I hesitate to say much on this. There are many 
instances where ministers are doing a good work 
through it. J have worked with Dr. L. O. Williams 
in his spiritual clinic at Buffalo (Church of the 
Messiah) and have seen its good results, There is 
an opportunity for ministers to understand the psy- 
chology of disease but it hardly belongs in this 
technical volume. It would be well for the minister 
to keep informed on psychological progress and even 
understand the fundamentals of psychoanalysis. 
Their use will be indirect with most of us. But 
such study helps in the understanding of peculiar 
pastoral problems. Next let the minister seek 
counsel with some sympathetic physician who 
realizes the limitations of his own profession. To- 
gether they may work out some practical plan. But 
it is well to be forewarned. This is a difficult field. 
The minister by training is unfitted for it. And 
only in special cases should he feel that he may 
assume the right to shape a policy of recovery from 
physical disease. 

But while the period of uncertainty prevails in 
regard to this it would do well for ministers more 
and more to study and hold conferences on the 
various social and psychological phases involved. 
Dr. Henry C. Cabot suggests the following clinics 
for theological seminaries. It is just as important 
that ministers in the field direct their attention 
toward them. 


38 Church Administration 








Visiting the sick. 

Attendance upon the dying. 

Consolation of the bereaved. 

Advice as to marriage and parenthood. 

The opportunities and privileges of visiting 
aged people. 

Sex problems. 

Praise and blame. 

Misfortunes and the ways of meeting them. 

Delinquency in children and adults. 

The problem of alcoholism; drug habits. 

The problem of the neurasthenic. 

Insanity and feeble-mindedness. 

The art of conversation and the avoidance of 
gossip. 

The differences of men and women. 

Race traits and race psychology. 


THE FUNERAL 


There is not much uniformity in America in the 
conduct of a religious service of burial of the dead. 
In most of the eastern cities the sermon at a funeral 
has been eliminated. The ministers use a ritualistic 
service which has been approved by the denomina- 
tion or one which seems to appeal to them. In the 
South and West funeral sermons are still in vogue. 
Many ministers drift between these two plans, giv- 
ing a short message of comfort with a great deal 
of poetry, the reading of hymns and a minimum of 
personal comment. 

The minister is oftentimes placed in an embar- 
rassing position by the appearance of a Fraternal 
Order at the funeral. Unquestionably most of the 
Orders take themselves too seriously. The reading 
of their service by illiterate participants is neither 


The Minister as a Shepherd — 39 





beautiful nor comforting. The minister should, 
however, try to adjust himself to the situation. If 
he wants to make a protest about this, he should do 
so through his educational messages but refrain 
from it during the time of the ordeal. If it can be 
arranged, the benediction should be given by the 
minister after the fraternal body has concluded its 
service. 


SUBSTITUTES FOR HOUSE-TO-HOUSE VISITATION 


Many of the wide-awake ministers have appre- 
ciated the necessity for a contact with the individ- 
uals in the parish and have tried to perfect some 
method whereby they may accomplish the same 
results without so large an expenditure of energy. 

One of the first ways tried is the minister’s “at 
home.” ‘This is an effort to have the people come 





FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
Rev. Thos. S. Brock, 8.T.D., Pastor 


Camden, N. J. 
Dear Fellow Worker: 

Dr. and Mrs. Brock will be at the home of .............. 
hs a PENS i Se next. l uesdaye Evening, Aweuls) one oe be 
All the members of our church and congregation living in 
this section of the city are urged to be present. This is not 
a Prayer Meeting nor a Social, but an opportunity for our 
Pastor to meet you and yours. We urge you to be present. 

Cordially, 
THE FORWARD WORK COMMITTEE. 


to the minister’s residence to make the social contact 
rather than requiring him to go round the entire 
parish. Rev. Thomas S. Brock, while pastor of the 
First Methodist Episcopal Church of Camden, New 
Jersey, thought that he had improved on the first 


40 Church Administration 





method by the institution of sectional ‘at homes.” 
He would pick out a certain home in his parish and 
with Mrs. Brock plan to spend an evening there. A 
notice was sent out to all of the members in that 
locality so that they would have the opportunity of 
meeting the pastor and his wife. (See page 39.) 


THE USE OF THE MAIL 


One of the best substitutes for the personal visit 
is a legitimate use of correspondence. I do not mean 
the use of printed or multigraphed letters, though 
these have their place in church administration. I 
mean the notes and letters written with a heart to 
meet the situation of the individual. Bernard C. 
Clausen, pastor of a church of over two thousand 
members, has found this very useful. He sends a 
personally written card to each one of the Sunday 
school pupils on his birthday. This means an aver- 
age of forty cards a week. But it has paid. The 
daily papers are scanned for announcements of 
births and other events and friendly notes are sent, 
showing that he is interested. In cases of bereave- 


January 28, 1925. 
Dear Barbara Janeé: 

I want to welcome you to our church and to our 
world. We have a little son who is just about 
your size and he will be starting Sunday school 
with you, we hope. If you always display such 


good judgment as you used when you selected 
your parents, I shall not be at all in doubt about 
your future! 

Your pastor, 


BERNARD, C. CLAUSEN, 





A Letter to a New Babe 


The Minister as a Shepherd 4] 





ment he finds that a comforting letter is oftentimes 
more prized than the personal visit. 

Here are samples of Dr. Clausen’s method of 
working. This and above were personally written 
notes—not typewritten. 


January 17, 1925. 
Dear George Mason: 

The “Daily Orange’ brought me the news 
that you were to be president of the Campus 
Y. M. C. A. Man, we are proud of that! 

We want you to be so worthy of the honor 


that the University will respect our church for 
the kind of work you are doing. And tf ever you 
need what we can give, call on us! 
Your pastor, 
BERNARD C. CLAUSEN. 





A Letter to a Student 


VISITATION AT CLUBS AND LODGES 


Many ministers think that they can find an ef- 
fective substitute for pastoral visitation by appear- 
ing at the various clubs and lodges where they meet 
the men and women socially. This undoubtedly 
does offer an access to people, particularly to men, 
who might not be reached at the hour of the visit 
at the home. It also is a splendid way to show 
interest in the social affairs of the congregation. 

Perhaps a still better way is to so organize the 
activities of the church that a visit to each organi- 
zation brings a social contact with all the people. 
More and more the idea is to have every member 
connected with some expressional society in the 
church. The minister by attendance upon these 


meetings occasionally has the opportunity to greet 
all. 


42 Church Administration 
STEM bch sthab AOR MMOLE LAL TARO RAN ce eT 





KEEPING OFFICE HOURS 


There is a growing consideration of the need of 
a Protestant confessional. By this we mean a place 
where the layman can go and consult his minister. 
There are some objections to this. There is the his- 
torical one that Protestants are not trained in this 
thing and that they will not do it. Yet it offers 
opportunities. We must go slowly on adopting any 
thing which would seem to mechanicalize the pas- 
toral relation. There are a great many people who 
would never go through the formality of making 
an appointment in order to see the minister. They 
can’t understand the formality. I do not know of 
any instance where a plan such as this may be said 
to be 100 per cent successful. 

One reason why this plan cannot be wholly suc- 
cessful is that most problems people bring to their 
pastor are not things which require arbitrary de- 
cision, but matters which must be brought out 
through long study. The attitude of the pastor 
must be that of the psychoanalyst and not the judge. 
Matters brought to the pastor are usually things of 
long standing. They have been harbored in the 
soul and now they are crying for light. To say to 
such a person, “I will give you ten minutes on 
Thursday afternoon at four o’clock,”’ appeals to me 
as poor psychology. 


GROUP ORGANIZATION OF THE PARISH 


Still another method of substitution for the pas- 
toral visit is the group plan of organization where 
layman visits layman. In this plan the parish is 


The Minister as a Shepherd 43 








divided into geographical districts. Over each dis- 
trict a leader is appointed. He may have several 
assistants. But the main idea is to see that every 
home is visited once a quarter, or in whatever 
period of time is decided upon. 

As a promotion scheme it would be hard to im- 
prove upon this. A parish well organized in this 
way can put through most anything. It can be used 
as the basis of the every-member canvass, for the 
organization of revival services, an Easter ingather- 
ing, the church fair or anything else. The man who 
builds a machine on this principle may sit in his office 
and push the button and the whole machinery goes 
to work. The opportunities it offers in the line of 
social life are immense. 

Rev. Charles Kristian Orsborn, in his church at 
River Forest, Illinois, has developed this idea to its 
logical end. He has a plan which he calls “intensive 
farming.” He is abandoning the larger meetings in 
the church, such as the men’s club, for smaller group 
meetings where the members may get together in 
a friendly way. He finds that the total attendance 
is considerably larger. ‘Twice a year the groups 
come together for a large meeting: once for the 
Father and Son dinner and once for a joint meeting 
with the ladies’ society. 

This type of group meeting offers a splendid 
chance for personal contact with the parish. If you 
take the minister out and expect it to run as a 
machine without his personal presence and interest, 
I doubt its efficacy as a substitute. You can’t rule 
the pastor out of the pastoral relationship. No 
matter what plan may be used as a substitute for 
pastoral visitation, the personality of the minister 


44 Church Administration 
ps CRUEL NAAN Loh ee an ina SR 
must be in it. It is a good thing to get the people 
calling on each other, but that is not enough. 
There is point to the story told by Dr. Griffith 
Thomas of the minister who sent a layman to call 
on a man in the parish. The man’s rebuff is 
interesting. 
Said he, “It’s no use sending the likes o’ ye to the 
likes 0’ we.” 





INVITATION FORMS 


The minister’s work in the parish is furthered 
by the use of proper invitation forms asking the 
people to church or urging them to unite with the 
church. Some ministers have their calling cards 
printed with an invitation. Others make it a point 
to drop a personal note to any they missed during 
the day. A printed form seems to give concreteness 
to the spoken invitation. 

These types of invitation cards are valuable. 


CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 


I hereby acknowledge my belief in Jesus Christ as my 
Saviour and Lord and desire to be received into the member- 
ship of the church. 


[] I am not now a member of any church. 
L] I am now a member of 





A card such as this will help many a delinquent 
to send for the church letter. 


The Minister as a Shepherd 45 


City 
Will you please issue to me a Certificate of Dismissal to the 
J. R. MILLER MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 


Of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania 


Please send the Certificate to the 
Rev. E. Hubert Broyles, D.D. 
36 Overhill Road, Upper Darby Philadelphia, Penna. 





The Minister's Invitation 


This invitation is taken from the back of one of 
the cards of Rev. James Ashton Davies, El Reno, 
Oklahoma. 


I just wanted to extend to you a 
cordial invitation to worship with us 
whenever you feel so disposed. A hearty 
welcome, a sincere “God bless you,” 


awaits you at our church. We hope 
you will feel at home with us and come 
often. 





MEMBERSHIP RECORDS 


No matter what plan of pastoral calling one has 
in mind he will find that it is necessary to keep fairly 
complete pastoral records. Usually the denomina- 
tion designates the type of records which it thinks 
necessary. These may be preserved in a bound 
volume for security, though in some instances 


46 Church Administration 
churches favor individual card systems. They need 
not be as complete as the one shown here, which is 
used by the Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, 
New York, but they should contain information 
which will help the minister in his personal con- 
tacts. ‘This information is indispensable in a large 
church where there is danger of overlooking folk. 











[SERVICE RECORD | _ MEMBERSHIP RECORD] 
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at [Tew tenser [ra mews oeuecuss fate | PTT 1 ttt to 

rial | [eewean sieuecuass Tree | [1] 












[s| | [corcrercer | im 

{| frees Nes [TP witwessncanens fun] | | | 1) 111 111 
ie Tl EN TIA 
Ltt secre [mew ortiecnurcn way | 11111] Me ia Lo 
Lt | [reess tal TT womansauxiany  faune] | | | |. 111111 
Pot bsiscuootorrcer 9 fis] UT a sue ed ed dT 
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Le | | | sociatworner [aif | [cnoraccius ser? TT | | | 1 
SIAR eae EE EPI Ld 


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Saamee 1") saemenee4551255-111 weenie 


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EXPENSE - YELLOW 


A SMALL TOWN OPPORTUNITY 


The church in a small community has the advan- 
tage of being able to greet every newcomer, a thing 
which is impossible in the larger community. Rev. 
William C. Mitchell of the Bethany. Presbyterian 
Church, Menands, New York, sends this greeting 
to each new family moving into the community. 


The Minister as a Shepherd 47 


The formal card is afterwards followed by a per- 
sonal call. 


2 


: 
| 
| 


900 e0Ge2 G10 O00 G19 Gor Gor Grr Gor Gor Ger Ger Gee Wer Gor ero Gee G20 Gee O22 Gor Serer Sor Ges Per Ger Gor Sor Borer Bory, 


CAelcome to HMenands 


t is a pleasure to welcome pou to pour new 
ij Home. We hope that pou will quickly feel 
at home here, and that pou will find manp 
friends. We shall be happy to do what we can 
to bring this about. 


Q Sf vou are of the Catholic Church, pour 
nearest place of worship is in the city; if pou are 
affiliated with the Cpiscopal Church, St. HMlar- 
garet’s is on the corner of Brookside Avenue and 
Willa Road, with services at nine o'clock. 


G SE pou are not connected with either of these 
churches, we bid pou welcome ta Bethany Church, 
at Lyon Abenue and Menand Road. Morning 
CAorship at ten-thirty; Sunday School at noon. 


Q The Reb. William C. Mitchell, pastor of 
Bethany Church, will take pleasure in calling on 
pou in the near future. 


Pours to serbe, 
Bethany Church 


O00 @ 00 Gor GerGorGorGorGooGorGoo@ or Ger GooGer Gor GorGor Go or Gov Gover Ger GorGooG oe Hor Goo Gor Gor Gov Gor Gor QooGor Gor Gor Ger Ger Ger GorGorGe 


: 
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WY fe 


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Part II: The Services of the Church 


a MN 


aA w >) 
via 





CHAPTER 4 
MAKING THE SERVICE COUNT 


THE complexities of modern life have driven the 
minister to the very sensible conclusion that people 
do not come to church to hear him preach. This 
may be why in the non-conformist churches we are 
giving more and more attention to the liturgy of our 
services. They are no longer merely preaching 
services, just as we no longer meet in “meeting 
houses.” 

“iter spending a few months in detached service 
where I have the opportunity of hearing other min- 
isters preaching I find myself judging a service on 
several grounds. 

_ Ilike profound rather than surface preaching. 
{ like to worship as well as to listen—and I 
don’t have to be harangued. 
{ like to worship in a church which makes me 
feel at home. 

These may not be the standards of the average 
man, and we would disagree as to their virtue. 
Probably no two of us would select the same kind 
of preaching. Preaching is tempered by person- 
alities. I do not think that any minister need apolo- 
gize for his profundity. It does not necessarily 
make him dense or non-understandable. It is much 
harder for the thinking man to listen to the preacher 
who races around the surface trying to find some- 
thing which may be accounted brilliant or smart, or 
to listen to the man who makes a hobby of theologi- 
cal arithmetic. But the prcachins which takes the 


yD Church Administration 





great topics of the soul and treats them in an honest 
way will have listeners. However, this volume is 
not a study in homiletic methods. 


MAKING THE SERVICE WORSHIPFUL 


Nor is this book a study in church polity. I think 
that there is a field for such a study. We are try- 
ine—oh, so hard—to introduce the elements of 
beauty into our Protestant worship. We try col- 
ored pictures and windows, music, poetry, architec- 
ture, pulpit gowns and choir robes. Yet in so much 
of this we do not understand the reason for our 
decisions. They make an appeal, we admit. But 
any symbolic significance, if there is any, we do 
not understand. There seems to be no common 
knowledge of the position of the lectern, the bap- 
tismal font, nor for the various parts of the church 
buildings. Ministers are wise in turning their at- 
tention to these things. y 

Here we are considering just the simple things 
which help to make the worshipful atmosphere. 
Music now has a part in every church service. It 
finds its best expression in the organ. Organ build- 
ing has advanced so wonderfully with the introduc- 
tion of the electric action that its possibilities seem 
limitless. The electric action organ has justified 
itself. It has its faults, to be sure. Dust plays 
havoc with the contact points, but its wonderful 
resources in instrumentation and variation more 
than atone for any of its faults. The organ is pre- 
eminently the instrument for churches. 

In addition to the prelude and postlude and the 
playing of the hymns, there are many opportunities 
for its use. Played with the soft stops, it is very 


Making the Service Count 53 





effective through the prayers. The organ may be 
played continually through the communion service. 
The rendering of the old hymns of worship cannot 
but make the service much more effective. It will 
lead in the responses and many prefer the organ. 
response to the vocal one. A harp stop in the organ 
is very effective for the response. In addition, 
chimes which are played from the keyboard help to 
complete the musical equipment of the church. 

The call of the organ is the call to worship. The 
congregation will understand this. It is not the 
time for levity or whispering but for meditation and 
prayer. Then will follow the call in words, varying 
with the various liturgies. They consist of respon- 
sive readings, prayers, confessions, etc. The service 
need not be elaborate, but it should be thoughtfully 
directed, leading the people to an appreciation in the 
reading of the scripture and the prayer. It is not to 
be hurried over, and yet it is not to be dragged 
through. : 

The great hymns of the church have a place. At 
their best they are prayers or confessions. Scrip- 
ture reading is a matter of dignity and sincerity 
rather than of interpretation and elocution. Many 
ministers will not use prepared prayers but no min- 
ister will ignore the great petitions of the historic 
Church. He will do well to study them for their 
language and form of expression. 

And then there are the announcements. Try as 
we may, it seems impossible to keep them to the 
printed bulletin. Perhaps it is just as well. Many 
of them can be given in a reverent spirit. It may 
be difficult to announce an ice cream social in that 
way, and trustee meetings had better be kept out 
of the public worship, but everybody has to make 


54. Church Administration 





some kind of announcement. For some reason or 
other, they usually follow the offering. This is 
probably as good a time as any. Much better than 
at the close of the sermon, so let it go at that. 

The offering rightfully belongs in the service of 
worship. Appeals for money do not have a place 
there. These should be made in other ways. But 
the placing of the money on the altar is a distinct 
act of worship. It should be introduced and recog- 
nized as such. Funny stories may be all right in 
mass meetings when a collection is being taken, but 
they have no part in a service of worship. 

The finest help for the minister for this particular 
service, that I have seen, is a little book entitled, 
The Offertory, originally distributed by the Depart- 
ment of Stewardship to Presbyterian ministers. It 
is a collection of prayers suitable for the offertory 
and also a selection of Biblical and poetical passages 
which may be used. For instance, the Scriptural 
passage may be used to introduce the offering in the 
place of the blunt announcement, “The offering will 
now be received,” “The ushers will now wait upon 
you,” or some similar statement. At the conclusion 
the prayer may be used. Two pages of this little 
volume are here shown and they will at least give an 
idea of the valuable compendium. 


Making the Service Count | 55 





Horning 


QO THOU GREAT GIVER, who dost neither buy nor 
sell, yet art ever giving: Thou givest to all life and 
breath and all things, Thou sendest rains and fruitful 
seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Thou 
givest us power to get wealth. And Thou didst so love the 
world as to give Thine only and well beloved Son. With 
him Thou dost freely give us all things richly to enjoy. In 
token of our gratitude and devotion, we offer these first 
fruits of our income, and also ourselves without reserve. 


Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 
David McConaughy 


There is that maketh himself rich, 
Yet hath nothing: 


There is that maketh himself poor, 
Yet hath great wealth. 


There is that scattereth, 
Yet increaseth yet more; 


There is that withholdeth more than is meet, 
But it tendeth only to want. 
—Proverbs 13:7; 11:24, RV 


Chening 


(jee O LORD, is the greatness and the power and 
the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that 
is in heaven and in earth is Thine. Riches and honor come 
of Thee. Thou alone hast enabled us to offer Thee these 
gifts of our love. All things come of Thee and of Thine 
own have we given Thee. In uprightness of heart and with 
joy have we willingly offered all these things unto Thee. 
Graciously use these gifts, we beseech Thee, to build Thine 
house among all peoples, until Thy perfect will shall every- 
where be done and Thy kingdom come. In Jesus’ name. 
Amen, 

Guy L. Morrill 


56 Church Administration 








Morning ' 
UR DEAR FATHER, who feedest the birds of the 


heaven and arrayest in glory the lilies of the field, we 
praise Thee for Thy ceaseless care. And we thank Thee 
that Thou dost encourage us to express our gratitude to 
Thee by the offering of our means, each according to his 
ability. Wilt Thou bless us now in this act of worship. 
For Christ’s sake. Amen. 


As on the river’s rising tide 
Flow strength and coolness from the sea, 
So through the ways our hands provide 
May quickening life flow in from Thee. 


To heal the wound, to still the pain, 

And strength to failing pulses bring, 
Till the lame feet shall leap again, 

And the parched lips with gladness sing. 


Bless Thou the gifts our hands have brought; 
Bless Thou the work our hearts have planned ; 
Ours is the hope, the will, the thought; 
The rest, O God, is in Thy hand. 


Samuel Longfellow 


Evening 
Qe THOU who didst sit by the treasury, beholding how 


men cast in, Thou knowest us altogether. Forgive our 
selfishness; forgive us that we have thought to own that 
which is ours only in trust; forgive us for waste and ex- 
travagance, for prodigality in pleasure, while miserly in our 
gifts for noble ends. Not the labor of our hands can fulfill 
Thy laws’ demands, but the love of our hearts speaks in the 
offerings of those hands. Fill, then, more fully our hearts 


with love. For Jesus’ sake. Amen. 
Robert Freeman 


Making the Service Count 57 


LL LL LS Sa SSS 





DHE cULOURGY, 


Even among our non-conformist churches we 
have orders of service which might be classed as 
high or low according to the liturgy used. Here are 
shown types of these two services. 


* MORNING WORSHIP 


At Eleven O’Clock Dr. Merrill will preach 
PRELUDE—Sonara ; ; Ss : . Wolstenholme 
NED eu Vuwer tr. CES RAL gelato PVCS a a ie mR a tot ee 


I will sing of thy power, O God, and will praise thy mercy betimes in 
the morning, for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of 
my trouble. My strength will I ascribe unto thee, for thou art the 
God of my refuge. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing, for thou, 
O God, art my refuge and my merciful God. Amen. 


DOXOLOGY 
THE SENTENCES 
THE INVOCATION 


THE CONFESSION (To be said by the people with the 
minister ) 

Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge and confess in Thy 
presence our sinful nature, prone to evil and slothful in good, and all 
our shortcomings and offenses against Thee. Thou alone knowest how 
often we have sinned, in wandering from Thy ways, in wasting Thy 
gifts, in forgetting Thy love. But Thou, O Lord, have pity upon us, 
who are ashamed and sorry for all wherein we have displeased Thee. 
Teach us to hate our errors; cleanse us from our secret faults; and 
forgive our sins, for the sake of Thy dear Son our Saviour. And O 
most holy and loving Father, send Thy purifying grace into our hearts, 
we beseech Thee: that we may henceforth live in Thy light and walk 
in Thy ways, according to the commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord. 


Pree PSAUTER, 53 

GLORIA PATRI 

THE SCRIPTURE LESSON 

HYMN 11 “o worsSHIP THE KING” 

THE GENERAL PRAYER 

THE LORD’S PRAYER 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

OFA SIN SS OO) de OR ‘ Cg} iim tar OGETeN 


Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and 
with weeping, and with mourning: 
nd rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord 
your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great 
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 


PRAYER OF CONSECRATION 
HYMN 63 “cop 1s Love” 


THE SERMON “can I BELIEVE IN GOD” Job 23:3 





58 Church Administration 


HYMN 48 “LORD OF ALL BEING” 
PRAYER AND BENEDICTION 
GA CVRAT tA BIN ial Wiss else Cola oa a a a 
POSTLUDE—Finate. . « Wolstenholme 


* Brick Presbyterian Church, NeW von City. The service con- 
tains more liturgy than the average Protestant service. 


* FMorning Serbice—10:30 o'clock 
Prelude. “Ave Maria’ 4cu..c a ees wees Gounod 
Call to Worship, “The Lord Is in His Holy 
Temple.” 
Invocation 
Lord’s Prayer 
Hymn No. 355 
Responsive Reading, Selection 37 
Gloria 
The Reading of the Scriptures 
Contralto Solo, “Teach Me to Pray”........ Jewett 
Morning Prayer 
Response 
Children’s Sermon, “Sand” 
Children’s Recessional, Hymn No, 332 





Offertory, Organ, “Serenade in B”........ Federlein 
Quartet, “The God of Abraham 
PTA) Ce eh ira eae Buck 


Sermon, “A Demonstrated Failure” 

Prayer and Benediction 

Silent Prayer 

Postiude): "Finalet oi 2)/2 00) 1a aur saaieateney Guilmant 





* Delaware Street Baptist Church, Syracuse, New York. A briefer, 
yet effective, service of worship. 


THE LECTIONARY 


Many ministers of non-liturgical churches fail to 
give the whole Bible a plan in their Scripture read- 
ing. It is very easy to fall into the habit of read- 
ing the best liked passages, and omitting portions 
of the Scriptures which really are entitled to con- 
sideration. Perhaps the best way to correct this 
fault is to take pains to make out a lectionary. The 
lectionary consists of a plan of Bible reading for 


Making the Service Count 59 
a 
the entire year. Once the plan has been worked out 
the minister can devote the time usually spent in 
thinking of a good passage to perfecting his appre- 
ciation of the selection. Such a lectionary has been 
appended to this chapter. 


VALUE OF GOOD ORDER 


The order of service should be given a great deal 
of thought. Each part should pass naturally into 
the next order. I recently worshiped at one of the 
most illustrious churches of American Protestant- 
ism. The order of service was simple. But there 
was one place where it was faulty. Here is the 
point in issue. 

Scripture Lesson. 
Anthem. 

Talk to Children. 
Prayer. 

The minister found it very difficult to pass from 
the talk to the children to the prayer. There was 
more or less humor in the talk. A prayer for the 
children might very well have followed, but the 
service called for the general prayer. Probably the 
explanation is this: The order has been compiled in 
the days before the children’s sermons were cus- 
tomary. Then it would be—Scripture Lesson, An- 
them, Prayer. 

But it was thought desirable to give a talk to the 
children. It had to go in at some point, so it was 
given the place following the anthem. How much 
better to let it precede the second hymn. 

The common practice seems to be to have the col- 
lection before the sermon. The usual order is the 
offering, a hymn, then the sermon. Some churches, 
however, have the offering following the sermon. 


60 Church Administration 


I found this practice in two such diversely different 
churches in New York as the Church of the Divine 
Paternity and an African Methodist church. The 
minister of the latter church assures me that it is 
the custom in the African Methodist churches. He 
eleefully remarked that the colored brethren were 
not afraid to put their preaching to the test while 
the white brothers thought that the collection should 
be taken before the sermon. 

The closing of the service is as important as the 
opening. Bulletins would indicate that more and 
more the final hymn is being omitted, the benedic- 
tion being pronounced immediately following the 
sermon and prayer. The idea, of course, is to have 
the service close in the spirit of the sermon. But, 
on the other hand, hymns might be found which 
would bolster up the sermon and reénforce its 
message. 


THE TECHNIQUE OF THE SERVICE 


The above does not assume to be a study in church 
liturgy. This is a volume of technique rather than 
of worship. But there are many things which can 
help to make the service worth while which would 
come under the title of mechanics. These are the 
things which help to make a church homelike. 

It is rather necessary that the people know one 
another. Artificial means must be resorted to many 
times to bring this about. When a minister an- 
nounces that he wishes everybody to shake hands 
and make themselves friendly, he is doing the very 
thing which will react against friendliness in sensi- 
tive individuals. Besides, turning around and shak- 
ing hands with a man because I am asked to does 
not necessarily mean that I have friendly feelings 
toward him. 


Making the Service Count 6] 
—_—— 
Here is where a good ushering system counts. 
Frederick A. Wallis is right when he says that an 
usher can make or break a church service for an 
individual. The good usher will have an eye for 
the stranger. He will see that he is given a good 
place. He will secure his name and address which 
in turn he will turn over to the minister. He will 
introduce the stranger to some individual who will 
be interested in him. This can be done and is being 
done in many churches while in others the visitor or 
communicant is just one more person in the service. 





THE USHER 


The church usher is really an important part of 
the service. Men selected for the task should be 
mature and should understand the nature of the 
work. With many churches it is customary to use 
young men for this work. This is fine, but at the 


As a Guest to-day of 
THE NORTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 


We will appreciate it if you will kindly sign this card 
and drop it in the contribution plate or hand it to an 
usher or to the pastor. 

Your name will then be recorded in our Guest Book, 
which we hope will contain the name of every visitor 
to our church. 


A 
a 
< 
0 
eet 
Yi 
a) 
=) 
) 





head of the group there should be a man who can 
instruct and direct them in their duties. Personally 
I think that it is a task for the officers of the church. 
They are the hosts at the service and should con- 
sider themselves as such. 

As an inducement to the ushers to consider 


62 Church Administration 








their opportunities some churches have organized 
‘Ushers’ Associations.” These organizations are 
social as well as technical in character, in some in- 
stances taking the place of the men’s club or other 
organization for men. But the major task is to 
stress the importance of good ushering, to show how 





FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 


West Main Street Independence, Iowa 


Ushers’ Weekly Report 


Attendance A.M. P.M. 





| 
North Section | 
Middle Section | 


South Section 





Total Attendance 








Assistant Ushers: 
MESSE Staite ew cle Read aiale Ce Teint nian Hailes eeaneetetauacens 


6. S 6 0.6. oR O 8 OO Se Oe Fae /e le eM. ee 91m Bie OD Clee e 0 4m 0 OS S18 wee 


Sat batit im sacra settee TOD Pack th, wa leet ocaiiohel re ahous sve 
(Signed) (44. o).4cces «alta ae hee ee ie Head Usher 


it is done and to show the contribution the ushers 
may make to the service. 

The ushers should know all the members of the 
congregation. Is it an impossible task? Not at all. 
The minister knows them. Why not the usher who 
stands at the door each Sunday? If he has this 
knowledge he will be able to detect strangers. To 
help the introduction of strangers some churches 
have what is known as the “guest book.” (See page 
61.) In this the visitors record their names and 
addresses. Another form of this is the “guest 


Making the Service Count 63 





card.” No matter which is used the idea provides 
the minister and the church worker with material 
for developing the congregation. 


COUNTING THE CONGREGATION 


More and more churches are finding it wise to 
keep a record of the church attendance. Nothing 
is so deceiving as trying to estimate the church at- 
tendance unless one has some system for exactness. 
The easiest way of getting the correct count is by 
making it a duty of the ushers. For this purpose 
blanks may be provided the ushers for each Sunday 
of the year. On page 62 is the one which is used 
by the Presbyterian church of Independence, Iowa, 
and is suitable for the average-sized congregation. 
A weather report is included with the other items 
so that in making comparisons that factor may be 
taken into consideration. 


CALLING THE ROLL 


It might be a fine thing if the churches could call 
a roll at each service. Here and there we hear of 
one that is doing it. Some mark those present on 
a wall chart. For the most part this seems im- 
practical and also undesirable. But it is possible 
to keep a check on special services, such as the com- 
munion service, and this is more and more being 
used. 
At the conclusion of the preparatory service the 
old Scottish Church would give a “token” to each 
one present. This was given up at the communion 
service. It was an indication that the member was 
prepared for the service. There may be some con- 
nection between this and the “communion card’ of 
to-day. It is an announcement sent out previous to 


64. Church Administration 





the communion notifying of the time and requesting 
attendance. The individual will bring the card to 
the service and put it on the collection plate. In 
the church office an attendance record is kept and 
these cards are checked after each service. This 
involves a card or some other kind of record. 

The card sent out to the communicants may go 
by mail or by a personal call. If the church has the 
organization, a quarterly call by some official is 
probably the best way. It keeps the matter from 
becoming too mechanical. It keeps the addresses 
up to date. There will be instances in which the call 
will check up on sickness or discouragement where 
the church or pastor should minister. But where 
such an organization is not possible, the mail may 
be used. 

Two types of cards have been used. One is rather 
complex, giving the attendance of the individual for 
several communion seasons. It encourages regu- 
larity in attendance and calls attention to the delin- 
quency. The other is more simple. It is a plain 


WALDEN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
Buffalo, New York 


The next communion service of this church will be held 
Sunday morning at 10.45 o'clock. 


If present please place this card on the collection plate so 
that your attendance may be recorded. 





card adapted for the name of the communicant 
which may be put on with the addressing machine. 
Above is the form which I have used. 

A more elaborate form has the advantage of 
giving the communicant a reminder if he has been 


Making the Service Count 65 





amiss in his obligations, while it encourages him to 
keep his record clean if he has been regular in his 
attendance. Its disadvantage is that it entails a 
considerable amount of bookkeeping to prepare the 
duplicate set of cards. It is most effective when 
used in connection with a personal call on the part 
of some church official. 

The author used this form for years, keeping a 
duplicate for record in the church office. Finally 
the simpler card was used in sending out the in 
vitation while this form was kept as an office 
record. 


THE LORD’S SUPPER 


First Presbyterian Church, Fairmont, W. Va. 
ATTENDANCE RECORD OF MEMBERSHIP 


“Do this in remembrance of me’’ 


PEA, WE ea alee cS, b cytly- oe hee. k's olen c Glerhidrae yi eta ee diate Ma teah Oaleruic hee os aelghs aes 
RUS RDS pN treks 8 is be aiscgeeoe ds GiGi Sid widuele Salata. £3 sto dN oe l< Bl acl ai ahel we eis hare 
1) $e hi cd € Ot § See er Ghatraian toes ocgke acne ot tebenteiola s Auten 
Communion 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 REMARKS 
February PROBA Ses or Bae ¥, cia hale dase sie w ecapunn Pitan. Me 

April RCCOM RE Bite ois, wae eC ae as | Meare Rete pee 

June Dit SP anc, bs eS le 0 aU Son alae 


Wctoperseeourthy, | esa Gents ic 


eooe ee we tieie «6.6 2 e16 


Mecembers sp Mitthy,. xt nc cue shelevs, tel kahers te eerie ety creas 

Note—Kindly hand this card to usher at Church door on 
Communion Sunday. 

Members absent the entire year from the Lord’s Table with- 
out satisfactory reasons are regarded by the Session as 
delinquents. 

Explanation—(P) Present; (A) Absent from the city; 
(S) Sick; (E) Otherwise excused; (Blank) No record. 


TRY TO HAVE A PERFECT RECORD 


66 Church Administration 








FOLLOWING ABSENTEES 


That minister is to be congratulated who can 
locate his absentees. Rey. Andrew J. Purdy, of 
Buffalo, sits at his desk Monday mornings and 
writes in longhand postal cards to all those who 
were absent from the service the day before. The 
message is informal, It may be merely “We 
missed you yesterday,” but it is mighty effective. 

Another plan is to check the absentees and to have 
a special card or letter sent on Monday morning. 
A card like this mailed to absentees week after week 
is sure to get results unless the person is alienated. 
But in it all one must keep the personal touch and 
not rely too much on machinery. The individual 
note or the personal call is what counts when every 
thing is said and done. 


































































































67 


Making the Service Count 


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CHAPTER 5 


TESTED PROGRAMS FOR SUNDAY 
EVENINGS 


To the average minister the Sunday evening 
service offers a tremendous problem. ‘The congre- 
gation responds to the formal morning service but 
people to-day are not “repeaters.” ‘There must be 
some feature to draw them out for the evening 
service. In many parts of the country the evan- 
gelistic appeal still has a tremendous gripping 
power. One cannot study the work of George W. 
Truett in Dallas, Texas; of George Stuart in Birm- 
ingham, Alabama, or of I. M. Haldeman in New 
York without realizing that there is a tremendous 
appeal in impassioned revival preaching. This is 
important enough to have a complete chapter de- 
voted to it. 

In this chapter we are concerned with unusual 
programs which have brought results. It is diffi- 
cult to give credit to the source of these plans. Like 
most other things successful plans grow. Some 
of them I have used in my own work, others have 
been used by ministers I know, but all have proved 
their worth. I have chosen them from various 
sources that there might be a broad selection— 
something for big churches, something for small 
churches and something for churches in between. 


THE QUESTION BOX 


This is an old plan but it still works. Dr. James 
L. Gordon, in his great church in San Francisco, 
77 


78 Church Administration 





has found it one of the ways to secure large crowds. 
He announced important themes but the people did 
not come. He offered to answer the questions that 
any might care to ask. The result was an im- 
mediate increase in attendance. 

There are two ways of working this scheme. One 
way is to have the questions handed in before the 
sermon and to answer them at the close of the 
service. This requires considerable originality of 
thought and wide information. Dr. S. Parkes 
Cadman has built up a tremendous radio audience 
through this method. Very few men, however, 
have his faculty for quick repartee and answers. 
So for most of us the second method is the better. 
It consists of receiving the questions when the offer- 
ing is being received. At the close of the sermon 
they are read with the announcement that they will 
be answered the following Sunday evening. The 
time for answering is before the offering is received 
so that the people may through the answers think 
of questions for the next week. In some instances 
it may be necessary to put in several suggestive 
questions to get things started and to show the 
type of questions which will bring the best results. 
Properly handled, the question box will bring 
results. 


THE SONG SERMON 


In its first state this is a very simple and yet 
effective service. It consists of a sermon which is 
interspersed with songs. There are some music 
publishing houses which make a specialty of this 
sort of thing. They provide a complete Sunday 
evening program, consisting of a specially written 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 79 





story into which special selections for the choir have 
been adapted. Most of the selections are very 
simple so that they are suitable for the untrained 
choir in the smallest church. I still recall with pleas- 
ure the rendering of “The Missionary Doctor of 
Labrador” in one of these song services, which I 
believe was published by Tullar-Meredith. 

But it is a simple matter to improvise one based 
upon an attractive story or to write your own story 
if you want the thing entirely original. At the close 
of this chapter I have placed one of my own at- 
tempts at this to show how it is done. In this plan 
the congregation as well as the choir had a part. 
They were eager to enjoy it. Mr. F. W. Barton, 
who at that time edited The Expositor, wrote me 
that he considered it a tremendous plea for applied 
Christianity. 


ECHO SINGING 


We must credit Dr. W. L. Stidger for the origi- 
nality of “echo singing.” Let him tell what it is. 

“We station in some part of the church one of 
our young lady soprano singers. ‘The audience 
does not see her. She may be hidden, say, in the 
gallery. In another part of the church, downstairs, 
an alto singer is hidden, in another part a bass, and 
in another a tenor. 

“Our leader announces a hymn. For illustration, 
it may be ‘Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour.’ He 
says to the audience, ‘I want the audience to sing 
on the choruses. I have arranged for the singing 
On bhie-vyenses: ..:. 

“The organ plays the opening chords of that 
beautiful verse: 


80 Church Administration 
pp ae ec ara) i EA NEE RTS) ES 





“*Pass me not, O gentle Saviour. 
9 


“Then suddenly, far away, like some sweet elf 


in a woodland, comes the alto voice on the plaintive ), 


prayer hymn. Sung beautifully, it melts into tears” 
and subdues the heart to reverence. Then, at last, 
the faint notes of the hidden soloist die away and 
the great audience swings into the chorus as if the 
angels themselves were leading.” 

Then in turn, according to this scheme, the other 
soloists, each from a different location, sing the 
verses. It is indeed a fascinating, a pleasing, fea- 
ture of the service. 


THE’ ART NIGHT JSERVICE 


Any service which features art or music, in ad- 
dition to drawing good congregations, has the added 
virtue of appealing to the finer instincts of man- 
hood. The church need offer no apologies for giv- 
ing people a love of good music or art. James 
Elmer Russell in the North Presbyterian Church, 
Binghamton, New York, has used very successfully 
what he calls his Art Night Service. What this 
really is, is a combination of music and art. He 
chooses a topic which can be illustrated by a re- 
ligious painting. Then some art store is asked to 
lend a copy of the picture for the service. This 
courtesy is, of course, acknowledged in the church 
bulletin. The picture is placed on the platform 
where a bright light will illuminate it while the 
other lights in the auditorium are dimmed. 

The entire service is arranged to fit the topic 
revealed in the picture. For instance, this is the 





Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 


program used when the picture chosen was Hof- 
mann’s “Christ and the Rich Young Ruler.” 


ee 


f—~ 


ie 


Se aS ae 


Organ Prelude—Handel’s “Largo” and 
the “Berceuse’ by Jocelyn. 

Hymn—“O Happy Day that Fixed My 
Choice’ (Choir and Congregation). 

Scripture Reading—Mark 10: 17-22. 

Tenor Solo and Quartette—“The Wayside 
Cross.” 

Prayer. 

Hymn—‘“Knocking, Knocking.” 

Offertory—‘‘Traumerei,” by Schumann. 

Hymn—“I Met the Good Shepherd” 
(Sung as a contralto solo). 

Lights dimmed and picture illuminated. 

Hymn—‘“O Jesus, Thou Art Standing” 
(Organ with French Horn as solo 
stop). 


. Interpretation of the picture by the pastor. 


Hymn—‘“I Gave My Life for Thee” 
(Sung as soprano solo). 


. Hymn—‘“Almost Persuaded” (Organ 


with Harp as solo stop). 

Auditorium Lighted. 

Hymn—“O the Bitter Shame and Sor- 
row” (Choir and Congregation). 

Benediction (After which the chimes will 
play “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is 
Calling’). 

Organ Postlude—“Postlude in D,” 
Harris. 


This type of service lends itself very well to 
special days and seasons. Here is another one of 


Sl 


82 Church Administration 





Mr. Russell’s arrangements, suitable for Mother’s 
Day. 

The subject of this service is “God’s Sympathy 
and Care Like Those of a Mother,” Isaiah 66: 13. 


I. Organ Prelude. Old Time Melodies— 
“Home, Sweet Home” (French Horn as 
solo stop), “Silver Threads Among the 
Gold” (Gemshorn as solo stop), “Just 
a Song at Twilight” (Harp as solo 
stop). 

2. Mother’s God—“Nearer, My God, to 
Thee” (Choir and Congregation). 

3- Mother’s Church—‘The Church in the 
Wildwood” (Organ chimes). 

4. Mother’s Prayer Life—“In the Secret of 
His Presence” (Sung as a contralto 
solo). 

5. Pastoral Prayer. 

6. Mother’s Saviour—‘There Were Ninety 
and Nine (Baritone solo). 

7. Mother’s Bible—‘How Firm a Founda- 
tion” (Choir and Congregation), 

8. Offertory—“How Dear to My Heart are 
the Scenes of My Childhood” (Organ 
with Vox Humana as solo stop). 

9. Mother’s Peace—‘‘Peace, Peace, Wonder- 
ful Peace” (Quartette). 

Io. Mother’s Heaven—“I Will Sing You a 
Song of that Beautiful Land.” 

II. Sermon. 

12. “Tell Mother I’ll be There” (Baritone solo 
with the quartette singing the chorus). 

13. Mother’s Guide—‘He Leadeth Me” 
(Choir and Congregation). 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 83 





14. Chimes—‘O That My Saviour Were 
Your Saviour, Too.” 

15. Organ Postlude—Improvisation on “The 
Sweet By and By.” 


DRAMA AND DRAMA PREACHING 


A perfectly legitimate plan for a Sunday evening 
service is to use it for the giving of Bible dramatiza- 
tions. This plan not alone provides an entertain- 
ment feature but it also has the advantage of en- 
listing the services of several people to take part in 
the productions. Various publishing houses are 
now putting out volumes of Bible and Missionary 
plays which lend themselves to this service. The 
costuming and stage setting may be somewhat of a 
problem but with ingenuity the leader will find a 
way without much expense. If a person can be 
found who has the ability to organize these dramas, 
it might well be made a regular feature of church 
work. The leader could organize a class in dra- 
matics which would supply the Sunday evening 
service with a drama one night each month. 

A much simpler affair is the drama sermon. 
Many ministers have found this effective. In this 
the minister usually takes all the parts. It has tre- 
mendous possibilities. If any one has listened to 
Professor Soares, of Chicago, give his wonderful 
dramatic interpretation of Elijah, using just the 
words of the authorized version, he cannot doubt 
the inspiration possible through this kind of service. 
Here also it is possible for the minister to secure 
prepared dramas. As a rule, however, he will find 
it to his advantage to use those of his own con- 
struction. 


84 Church Administration 
NT 

Here are a few simple rules which will help him 
in the production. 

I, Divide the drama into acts and scenes, avoid- 
ing terms such as incidents and episodes which 
modern theatergoers do not understand. 

2. Have as few divisions as possible. It is easier 
to follow a one-act play when there is but one actor 
than to follow several acts. 

3. Use the words of the Scriptures as far as 
possible. Don’t slang the majestic phrases of the 
authorized version. 

4. Interpret as you go along so that the congre- 
gation will find it easy to follow the story. 

A good story to begin with is The Good Samari- 
tan as so many phrases are already formed for you 
in the Bible. As an illustration of the possibilities 
in this story, take this excerpt from a drama-sermon 
based on the story. You will recall the verse, 
“While he was yet afar off, his father saw him.” 
This is the way it is put in the drama sermon. 


Father: It is easy for the mouth to say forget. 
But the heart remembers. He is my son. I would 
have him again in my home. I think of him as the 
little lad who loved his father so well. Pray to 
forget? Nay, I pray rather that he may come back. 
I would hear his voice again saying, “Father.” 

(Father sees a moving figure in the distance. ) 

Father: Steward, come here. 

Steward: I am here, sir. 

Father: Do you see yonder form? 

Steward: Yes, sir. 

Father: What do you make out? 

Steward: It is a man walking and reeling, 
Drunken or perhaps another refugee from the 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 85 
famine-stricken east. We will feed him, sir, as we 
have the others. Your son has given that order. 

Father: Do you see anything familiar in that man 
as he draws nearer? 

Steward: No, I never saw him before. 

Father: Look again, steward. Watch those arms, 
that head. He looks this way. Steward, is not that 
my sone 

Steward: I do see some resemblance now that it 
is mentioned. 

Father: It is he. It is he. I must hurry to him. 

(The father hurries down the road. The refugee 
stops and looks at him with amazement. The father 
falls on his neck and kisses him.) 

Younger Son: Father, I have sinned against 
heaven and in thy sight. I am no more worthy to 
be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired 
servants. 

Father: Steward, bring forth the best robe and 
put it on him. 

Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet: 
Bring the fatted calf and kill it. 

Let us eat and be merry. 

For this my son was dead and is alive again. 
He was lost and is found. 


Rev. Perry J. Stackhouse, D.D., of the First Bap- 
tist Church, Chicago, Illinois, adds to the effective- 
ness of his drama sermons by having the list of 
characters and the synopsis of the play printed in 
the Sunday calendar. Here is one in his series on 
Joseph as it appears in his announcement. 


86 Church Administration 
a i mC 


Religious Drama—‘“Joseph’s Dreams Come True” 
CHARACTERS 








Joseph 

Asenath, Wife of Joseph 

Setna, Steward of Joseph’s House 
Jacob, Father of Joseph 

Simeon 

rege Brothers of Joseph 
Benjamin 

Pharaoh, Ruler of Egypt 
Charioteer 


Scene I. The Stars Make Obeisance to Joseph 
(Place, a room in the palace of J oseph. Time, second 
year of the seven-year famine. Joseph and his wife, 
Asenath, are talking together.) 

Scene II, The Famine in Canaan 
(Place, Hebron, Land of Canaan, home of Jacob and 
his sons. Time, third year of the seven-year famine. 
The grain brought from Egypt has been eaten up and 
the household of Jacob is facing starvation. ) 

Scene III, God Moves in a Mysterious Way 
(The sons of Jacob arrive in Egypt and are brought 
to the house of Joseph. They fear that they will either 
be killed or sold as slaves. As Joseph enters the room 
for the second time they bow down before him with 
their faces to the earth.) 


THE FORUM 


The plan of the forum is to introduce subjects 
of social and religious interest. The speaker usually 
comes from outside and is an authority on the sub- 
ject. Following his address the meeting is thrown 
open sometimes for discussion and sometimes 
merely for questions. This gives an opportunity to 
discuss popular subjects and stimulates thinking. 
There are dangers to such meeting. The danger 
usually lies in the extremist who takes advantage 
to proclaim his particular “ism.” He ought to be 
put out, but to eject him would defeat the very pur- 
pose of the meeting. Curbs may be put on him by 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 87 


ET 





——_—— 


allowing each speaker but two minutes and allow- 
ing him to speak but twice on any one subject. 
This plan of service might find wide use in certain 
communities. 

Rev. Raymond Edward Little tells in a recent 
‘ssue of Church Management of the plan of organi- 
zation of the Open Forum in the Valverde Com- 
munity Church of Denver, Colorado. 

“The Open Forum of this church is directed by 
a committee of men who represent the business, 
professional and laboring classes. This committee 
selects the speakers and directs the program. In it 
are men of every religious belief, including Catho- 
lics. The officers are a president, vice-president and 
secretary-treasurer, chosen by a vote of the mem- 
bership. Our meetings are held each Sunday eve- 
ning at 6.30, and all seats are free; also very 
important is the fact that no offering or collection 
is taken during the session. Every man or woman 
who joins the Open Forum pays fifty cents, the dues 
for one year, which very nicely carries our expenses. 

“No side of any question is advocated by the 
Open Forum, hence during the month of October 
speakers representing the Republican, Democratic, 
Independent and Socialist parties addressed the 
Forum. At some of the meetings different party 
representatives appeared in a debate. 

“Some of the Forum meetings are purely of an 
entertaining nature, when moving pictures are 


shown. Usually the pictures shown are selected 
from some subject of special interest to the workers 
of this city. The best speakers of the city, state, 
and nation have appeared on our Open Forum pro- 
eram this season, such as, Mayor Stapleton of 


Denver, Governor Morley of Colorado, United 


88 Church Administration 





States Senator Rice W. Means of Colorado, Dr. 
William P. Shriver of New York City, and others. 

“Leading doctors of this city have been given 
the floor to explain their healing art. At other times 
local debates are planned, the question debated being 
something of vital interest to the people who live 
and work in this community. The officials of the 
Colorado State Federation of Labor have appeared 
on the Forum platform, and were given free rein 
in explaining unionism. On the other hand, repre- 
sentatives of capital have also addressed the Forum 
concerning their problems and troubles. 

“At the close of each address one has the oppor- 
tunity of asking the speaker any question he desires 
on the subject talked about. Or if a person does 
not care to ask a question he himself may talk three 
minutes on the subject. Free discussion and demo- 
cratic thinking will always take care of a wrong 
philosophy.” 


MAKING THE AUTOMOBILES OF SERVICE 


The First Presbyterian Church of Oneida, N. Y., 
has for years conducted services in near-by com- 
munities. The people of the church are encouraged 
to take their automobiles and attend the service. 
During the pastorate of the author at Alden, New 
York, once a month we moved the entire congrega- 
tion to Crittenden, three miles away, to help the 
service there. A special committee was appointed 
to promote the attendance. Automobiles were pro- 
vided for all who would go and as a result more 
people attended that service than those which were 
held in the home church, 





Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 89 


BOOK SERMONS 


The “book sermon” is a sermon in which the 
lesson is based on a book, a worth-while method 
which has been used in the largest of churches and 
also in the smallest. Dr. George A. Buttrick at the 
First Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, has had large 
midweek services when during the Lenten season he 
has talked on the outstanding novels. On the other 
hand, F. J. Neal, writing from Colfax, Iowa, tells 
of a crowded church instead of the usual attendance 
of fifty when he uses this type of sermon. He 
always selects with especial care the music to go 
with the service. For instance, in discussing The 
Covered Wagon, special song numbers included 
“Out where the West begins’ and “The Trum- 
peter.” 


A VICTROLA EVENING 


This is possible through an arrangement with the 
local dealer in some make of talking machine. It 
could hardly be suitable for large auditoriums but 
may be very successful in small churches. Mr. Neal 
in his church at Colfax one evening secured the 
complete set of records for Handel’s “The Mes- 
siah.” It included the work of artists such as 
Louise Homer, Schumann-Heink, Clara Butt, John 
McCormack and Galli-Curci. Special programs 
were printed featuring these artists. The preacher 
spent ten minutes telling the story of the oratorio. 


90 Church Administration 


APPENDIX, TO GHAPTERas 
THE CHURCH WHICH WAS CURSED 


A Program of Song and Story 


We are accustomed to question in this day many 
of the stories which have come to us of lives which 
were blighted by a curse. And yet we are puzzled 
at times to explain the succession of ill luck and 
misfortune which comes to some men. Weare also 
perplexed in our efforts to find an explanation for 
the misfortune which always visits some institu- 
tions, including now and then a church. And it is 
not surprising to find in a church such as St. 
Stephen’s men and women who even in this day of 
enlightenment believed that the church would labor 
to the end of its days under the influence of a 
terrible curse. 

Everybody in the church knew of the curse except 
the new minister, the Reverend Howard Wright. 
Although he had never heard of the curse, he knew 
that something was vitally wrong with the church. 
He did not know that there was a definite plan to 
keep him in ignorance of the strange power which 
interfered with all their activities. The church had 
had many ministers but as soon as they learned of 
the curse they sought other fields of service. And 
they liked this man, young, clean, whole-hearted, 
and the people felt that he might help them if they 
could keep from his ears the story of the curse. 

He had wondered why ministers successful in 
other fields had failed here. He had wondered why 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 91 


a church located in the heart of such a large popu- 
lation had exercised so slight an influence on public 
life. He wondered why a church which had been 
maintained for so many years had so little to show 
for it to-day. The building was old and lacked 
paint. The furnishings were poor. The church 
parlors were almost without equipment. Every 
time a dinner was given the ladies had to bring their 
home linen and silverware. The heating plant was 
ineffective in cold weather. In fact, located in a 
community which looked prosperous, the church 
showed every evidence of poverty. 

But the real pathos of the situation came to the 
new minister at a meeting of the official board. 
There were a number of routine bills which were 
voted through. Then the treasurer reported that 
he had not been able to pay those voted on the month 
before. Not alone had the local treasury been 
drained, but the benevolence money had all been 
borrowed to pay the local bills. There wasn’t much 
benevolence money anyway. 

“Our people simply will not give to those funds,” 
one of the men explained. 

The minister was puzzled. He was not familiar 
with such a situation. Then old Abner Harding 
let the cat out of the bag. He sprang to his feet. 

“Tt is the McLaughlin curse,” he shouted. “It 
always haunts us. We try hard but nothing we do 
succeeds.” 


(For Quartet) st. Catherine — 
1. Forth from the dark and stormy sky, 
Lord, to Thine altar’s shade we fly; 
Forth from the world, its hope and fear, 
Saviour, we seek Thy shelter here: 


92 Church Administration 


Weary and weak, Thy grace we pray; 
Turn not, O Lord, Thy guests away. 


2. Long have we roamed in want and pain, 
Long have we sought Thy rest in vain; 
Wildered in doubt, in darkness lost, 

Long have our souls been tempest-tossed: 

Low at Thy feet our sins we lay; 

Turn not, O Lord, Thy guests away. 
BisHop REGINALD HEBER. 


Here was a situation the minister determined to 
know more of. A pastor expects to fight the world, 
the flesh and the devil. But this was the first time 
he had been brought in to battle with a curse which 
was evidently real. And the curse makes,an inter- 
esting story in itself, 

It seems that when St. Stephen’s was organized 
the site desired was owned by the McLaughlin 
estate which was then in the surrogate’s court. The 
son, who was executor of the estate, looked out for 
his own interests and sold the lot at a very low 
figure without consulting any of the other relatives 
and took that as part of the money with which to 
leave the country. The widow, who was nearly 
destitute by the criminal action of the son, sought 
the trustees asking that they pay her the balance 
of the normal value of the land. They, insisting 
that they had legal title, refused to do so. The 
widow became angry and ran hysterically from the 
church. As she left she screamed: 

“A curse on your church. It is a robber church. 
It is built on an old woman’s broken heart. A curse 
on your church. It will never prosper.” 

Things had been going very well with the church 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 93 





and the men were amused with the situation. And 
then, like you and me, they did not believe in curses. 
But strange to say, almost from that day the church 
met reverses. About two years after that there was 
a serious division among the church members con- 
cerning the resignation of a minister. The church 
meeting became a noisy affair. At its close angry 
people started from the church. At that moment a 
funeral procession was passing. 

“Tt is old Mrs. McLaughlin,” some one said. 

Then they remembered the curse. Jt was as she 
had predicted. 

The men didn’t laugh at it any more, for it had 
become too real. Nothing went right. Lightning 
never struck the church but its membership was 
never happy in its services. Young people would 
leave it for other churches. Even the janitors 
would resign after a few months of service. And 
there was a continual stream of ministers. (They 
came proud of their calling and left with bowed 
heads of failure. 

The night that the Reverend Howard Wright 
learned of the McLaughlin curse he also learned 
what real prayer is. And during the hours of that 
night he prayed not to be spared in this struggle 
which he must make, nor to be spared the blows 
which had afflicted his predecessors. But he prayed 
that he might be led rightly to lead this church into 
ways of prosperity, righteousness and peace. 


(For the Congregation) St. George S.M. 


1. Revive Thy work, O Lord, 
Thy mighty arm make bare; 
Speak with the voice that wakes the dead, 
And make Thy people hear. 


94 





to 


Church Administration 


Revive Thy work, O Lord, 
Disturb this sleep of death; 
Quicken the smoldering embers now 
By thine almighty breath. 


Revive Thy work, O Lord, 
Create soul-thirst for Thee; 

And hungering for the bread of life 
O may our spirits be. 


Revive Thy work, O Lord, 
Exalt Thy precious name; 
‘And, by the Holy Ghost, our love 
For Thee and Thine inflame. 


Revive Thy work, O Lord, 
Give pentecostal showers: 

The glory shall be all Thine own, 
The blessing, Lord, be ours. 


ALBERT MIDLANE. 


And by morning the minister had some convic- 
tions which he was resolved would be carried into 
practice. His prayers had been answered. He had 
been shown the magic words and acts which would 


drive the curse away from St. Stephen’s. 


the heirs of Mrs. McLaughlin must be paid the old 
debt with interest; second, the church must from 
now on take an interest not alone in itself but also 
in the neighborhood in which it was situated, and, 
third, it must redeem itself from its selfishness by 


an enlarged interest in the world-wide work. 


The plan was carried to the officials of the church. 


To the first there was assent. 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 95 


“We would have paid it back many times but 
there are no heirs,” they explained. 

The second requirement was a hard one. The 
community had been changing. Each year had seen 
a few more Italians make their home there. The 
minister insisted that the church must attempt to 
evangelize these people to rid itself of the curse. 
It is the hardest lesson many churches have to learn, 
and yet when the disciples were sent into the world 
it was to preach the gospel to every nation, not to 
one or two favored ones. These were the needy. 


(To be used as a solo) 


1. There were ninety and nine that safely lay 
In the shelter of the fold; 
But one was out on the hills away, 
Far off from the gates of gold, 
Away on the mountains wild and bare, 
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care. 


to 


“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine; 
Are they not enough for Thee?” 

But the Shepherd made answer, “This of Mine 
Has wandered away from Me; 

And although the road be rough and steep 

I go to the desert to find my sheep.” 


3. But none of the ransomed ever knew 
How deep were the waters crossed, 
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord 
passed through 
Ere he found the sheep that was lost. 
Out in the desert he heard its cry, 
Sick and helpless and ready to die. 


96 Church Administration 


4. “Lord, whence are these blood drops all the way, 
That mark out the mountain’s track?” 
“They were shed for one who has gone astray 
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.” 
“T ord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?” 
“They are pierced to-night by many a thorn.” 


s. And all through the mountains, thunder riven, 
And up from the rocky steep, 
There rose a cry to the gate of heaven, 
“Rejoice, I have found my sheep.” 
And the angels echoed around the throne, 
“Rejoice for the Lord brings back his own.” 
ELIZABETH C, CLEPHANE. 


It was a hard lesson—this of service to the 
foreign-born close at hand. But demons such as 
had haunted St. Stephen’s are not easily driven out. 
After listening to the minister, they began in an 
humble way. It was merely a scout troop for 
Italian boys to begin with, but from that it grew 
until a whole-time worker was added to the church 
force. 

The third requirement was easier because it was 
so far away. It was that the church should pay 
many times the amount of that piece of land for 
foreign missions. Mr. Wright asked that the ex- 
periment be made. And people desperate to grasp 
any chance began to lose their selfishness as they 
saw the needs of others much poorer physically and 
spiritually than themselves. And strange to say, 
as they sought to relieve the needs of others at home 
and abroad their chronic selfishness and pessimism 
gave way to the Christian optimism. They had 
opened the gates of their temple. 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 97 





(For solo) 


Open the gates of the temple, 
Strew palms on the Conqueror’s way, 
Open your hearts, O ye people, 
That Jesus may enter to-day, 
Hark from the sick and the dying, 
Forgetting their couches of pain, 
Voices, glad voices, with rapture 
Are swelling a glad refrain. 


Open the gates of the temple. 
One grand hallelujah be heard, 
Open your hearts to the Saviour, 
Make room for the crucified Lord. 
Tears and the anguish of midnight 
Are lost in the splendor of day, 
They who in sorrow once doubted 
_ Are swelling the glad refrain. 


I know that my Redeemer liveth. 

Canst Thou, my heart, lift up thy voice and sing? 
I know that my Redeemer liveth, 

And because he lives, 

I, too, shall live. 


Things have changed in St. Stephen’s since then. 
Howard Wright is still the minister but other 
clergymen at times envy him his pleasant parish. 
A church which saw only itself now sees needs for 
service round about it. The church which was too 
poor to pay its own bills contributes hundreds to 
missionary work every year. And its own build- 
ing instead of showing signs of poverty because of 
this unselfishness shows comfort and prosperity. 

Somebody asked the minister the other day if he 


98 Church Administration 


ene a LS 





really believed in the curse which was on the 
church. | 

“Certainly,” he replied. “But remember it was 
a curse which was not placed by Mrs. McLaughlin 
but by the church itself. Its sinful selfishness 
brought the curse upon it. It could have been re- 
moved at any time if the church had been willing 
to see its real task and do it.” 

St. Stephen’s had caught the vision of the break- 
ing light. 


(For the Congregation) Webb 


1. The morning light is breaking, 

The darkness disappears; 

The sons of earth are waking 
To penitential tears ; 

Each breeze that sweeps the ocean 
Brings tidings from afar 

Of nations in commotion, 
Prepared for Zion’s war. 


2. See heathen nations bending 

Before the God we love, 

And thousand hearts ascending 
In gratitude above; 

While sinners now confessing, 
The gospel shall obey, 

And seek the Saviour’s blessing, 
A nation in a day. 


3. Blest river of salvation, 
Pursue thy onward way ; 
Flow thou to every nation, 
Nor in thy richness stay ; 


Tested Programs for Sunday Evenings 99 


Stay not till all the lowly 
Triumphant reach their home; 
Stay not till all the holy 
Proclaim, “The Lord is come.” 
Rey. S. F. SMITH. 


CHAPTER 6 
THE MIDWEEK SERVICE 


In this chapter perhaps more than in the others 
the author falls back upon his inherent right as an 
editor. The man is brave indeed who has a solu- 
tion of the midweek service. Yet on the whole the 
situation is more favorable than it was a few years 
ago. There are many methods, oftentimes conflict- 
ing methods, which are proving successful. 

Let us start in with Dr. Stidger’s well-known 
program of Food, Faith and Fun. Ina brief space 
this consists of a supper at six o’clock; from seven 
to eight there are various prayer meetings arranged 
by ages. At eight all of the church is thrown open 
for recreation. There are good times arranged for 
all, from the smallest tots to the gray-haired. 

On the other hand Bernard C. Clausen tried this 
plan and discarded it. “We wanted a prayer meet- 
ing which really sparkled. We succeeded in getting 
the sparkle all right. What disappeared was the 
prayer meeting.” 

He then went on to build a new plan or rather to 
return to an old plan and he called the services 
“Old-fashioned Prayer Meetings.” ‘We wanted 
to make it perfectly plain that we were cutting abso- 
lutely clear from the noisy, garish, high-pressure 
program of Food, Faith and Fun. We did con- 
tinue to serve our regular church suppers, for there 
are scores of people in our church who could not go 
home from business and get back in time for the 
prayer meeting and for a we provided the con- 

00 


The Midweek Service 10] 








venience of a well-served quiet meal. But no games, 
no slapping on the back, no wild songs. After 
supper the service began, with a deliberate interval 
of half an hour while our boards were meeting and 
while people had the right to do as they pleased. 
What they chose was consistently the quiet joy of 
friendly conversation.” 

Dr. Clausen’s service consists of the singing of 
hymns, Scripture readings, a talk on some religious 
question which will prompt comment from the floor. 
The only distinct variation from the old prayer 
meeting is that in the place of the oral prayers the 
people ask for prayers for individual instances and 
there is a moment of silent petition. 

His contribution to the Wednesday evening 
service is not in the order of service but rather in 
the change of emphasis. He decided that the time 
had come when instead of being considered a prob- 
lem the midweek service offered a great opportunity. 
The prayer meeting in his church is not the ther- 
mometer but the steam engine itself. Our midweek 
problem would disappear if ministers could come to 
that conception. Most of the weak meetings can be 
traced back to a minister who let himself be hypno- 
tized into feeling that there was no need of the 
service. As soon as he reaches a place where it is 
not a tiresome routine to be gone through with, but 
a large opportunity, he will see possibilities in the 
service. 

But here you have two men who have solved the 
problem of the midweek service and yet they have 
taken opposite extremes in doing it. So he would 
indeed be a courageous and wise man who would 
offer to suggest any absolute standard for this im- 
portant part of the church institution. 


102 Church Administration 





CHURCH WNIGH F 


Despite the above testimony some sort of Church 
Night seems to be quite the thing throughout the 
country. There seems to be a need for some night 
in the week set apart for committee meetings, 
classes, and social get-togethers. Many churches 
are capitalizing the midweek service. It naturally 
starts with a supper. Following that there is a 
devotional service. After the service opportunity 
is given for official board meetings, social inter- 
course and recreation. It is a simple matter to 
schedule many things for this particular week night 
and any plan which brings the church together is 
worth while. 

This program shows Church Night at the Asbury 
Delaware Methodist Episcopal Church, Buffalo, 
New York. 


WEDNESDAY CHURCH NIGHT 
The Third of Six Wednesday evenings. 


Program :— 


6:30 to 7:25—Supper, Bashford hall, in charge of Social 
Committee of Guild, Mrs. C. P. Rogers, Chairman. 

7:30 to 8: 10—Illustrated address by Dr. Wright on “Logs 
and Men,” one of a series dealing with “The Methodist 
Church at Work in the World.” Illustrated Hymn, “God of 
the Earth.” 

8:15 to 9:00—Study and Discussion Groups. 

1. Bible Study—Dr. O. W. Bates, leader. 

2. Mission Study—‘“‘Peasant Pioneers,’ Mr. Bartlett, 
leader. 

3. Applied Christianity, Mrs. Bruce S. Wright, Mrs. 
Harry B. Lauman and Mrs. Gertrude Byrens, 
leaders. 


Some churches have found a weekly church night 
rather strenuous. So they plan the usual midweek 


The Midweek Service 103 





service with a special Church Night once a month. 
The plan might well be tested out on this scale be- 
fore adopting the weekly program. The annual 
meeting may well be dated on this night, as well as 
recreational features which will draw. But in any 
plan the devotional service must have a place. 


At least one church is observing a church day. 
I am not sure that this has any connection with the 
midweek service. It probably could not be held 
more often than once a quarter. Possibly it is an 
annual affair. But here is the Church Day pro- 
gram report from the First Presbyterian Church, 
Batavia, New York. 


8:00—The bell called people to prayer. 
10: 15—Organ program. 
10:30—Devotional service with communion. 
2:30—Reception for older people who might not be able to 
attend in the evening. Also a social hour for little 
ones with their mothers. 
:o0o—Games, etc., for the children, 
:00—General reception. 
Every one who was sick or shut-in received a beautiful plant 
and was called on by some member of the church during 
the day. 


Oh 


A MIDWEEK INTENSIVE TRAINING COURSE 


The Methodist Church at Peru, Indiana, under 
the leadership of the Rev. A. H. Backus, worked 
out an education program for Thursday evenings 
which had an attraction for diverse groups in the 
church. It is a combination Church Night and 
Training Course. 

Seven Thursday nights were selected, closing 
with the night of the fourth quarterly conference. 
Each evening the program began with a social hour 
at six o’clock and a supper for the entire family at 


104 Church Administration 





6:30. Seven-fifteen was the time for devotional 
exercises and at 7:45 the education program began. 
This consisted of seven courses of study, each class 
meeting for one hour on each of six nights. 

The courses given: 

I. Christian Citizenship. 
. The Art of Teaching. 
Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick. 
Pageantry and Dramatics. 
Introduction to the Book of Books. 
Easter Membership Class. 
Story Telling and Games for Children. 

At 8: 30 a moving picture entertainment of in- 
terest to both children and adults is given. This 
program certainly has the variety necessary to make 


SIAM RY 


Diem Ovrtificate finan 


Methodist Episcopal Church 
Peru, Indiana 


Ta PIRES ¥y eg Mot this cert ie granted aye, the. seal of the 
Church aff xed thereto. 


“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a wockman that 


asedoth not bs ashamed. aightly dividing the word of txuth.” V4 





The Midweek Service 105 





a wide appeal. Care was taken to select teachers 
who were thoroughly competent so that there would 
be the additional appeal of thoroughness. The 
pastor in his class in Christian Citizenship made 
a study of the social and civic conditions in his 
city and was aided by representatives of the city 
government. 

On the seventh Thursday evening the Easter 
class was examined and certificates were presented 
to every one who had been present in his selected 
class on each of the six evenings of the course. The 
condition of the certificate discouraged the tendency 
to visit round and kept each in the class which he 
had indicated as his preference for study. 

The devotional half hour brought in several out- 
side speakers and benevolent claims of the church 
were presented. These presentations had their ef- 
fect in the every-member canvass following the 
seven weeks. 


PRAYER MEETING HAS NOT DISAPPEARED 


It is not necessary for us to assume that the 
prayer meeting is an extinct species. In many 
churches, conducted upon conventional lines, it is 
still very much alive. In others there may be a 
slight variation as to method. Many ministers are 
using the evening for lectures. By making them 
worth while they are attracting good audiences. 
Dr. Charles E. Jefferson gave his lectures on Isaiah 
at the midweek services before they were published. 
It shows that he thinks that it is worth putting a 
real effort into the service. The Unknown Bible 
was prepared originally as a series of lectures for 
the midweek service in the Lake Avenue Baptist 


106 Church Administration 








Church, Rochester, New York. Samuel V. V. 
Holmes, of Buffalo, lectures on Wednesday eve- 
nings on serious subjects and has a good hearing. 
During the past year Henry Sloan Coffin of New 
York has used the midweek service to study the 
poetry of the Bible. The bulletin of each Sunday 
gives the questions to be considered the following 
Wednesday night. 

Here is a list of his questions on the 104th Psalm: 


Flow does Hebrew poetry differ from ours? 

What lines in the poem do you consider most 
poetical and why? 

What impression is the poet trying to convey? 

How does he build up his effects? 

What title would you give the poem? 

How would you outline its contents? 

What would a Christian write differently ? 

What is its abiding religious message? 


EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR MIDWEEK 


Perhaps the preacher has taken it upon himself to 
give a course of lessons. They have included Bible 
study, missionary literature, church methods, stew- 
ardship, theology, and in one instance known to 
the author a country preacher successfully con- 
cluded a series of lessons in the development of the 
memory, basing it upon a correspondence course. 
In other churches the devotional service has been 
given over to the class for teacher training or a 
preliminary study of the Sunday school lesson. 

Here we have the educational night in its simplest 
form. But in many instances it has grown far 
beyond this and is more worthy of the title “Church 


The Midweek Service 107 
Night.” ‘The program in some churches is like this. 
At six o’clock a dinner is served in the church. This 
makes it possible for the men to go directly from 
business to the church where they can meet other 
members of the family. At seven or seven-thirty a 
devotional service is held. This lasts but fifteen 
minutes and then the meeting breaks up for class 
work. For the sake of efficiency the classes are kept 
small and meet in the various class rooms. In some 
churches the study is not of a missionary nature. A 
popular study during the last winter has been in 
stewardship. 


The Midweek Service a School of Missions 


Now and then a church reports progress beyond 
this kind of arrangement. It has turned its mid- 
week service into a school of missions. The meet- 
ing is not limited to adults, but there is conducted 
at the same time a school for children. They are 
taken care of by the Sunday school workers, who 
find this arrangement a great help to the regular 
work. This church is not far away from a plan 
for a second hour for religious education every 
week, 

The Second Presbyterian Church of Rahway, 
New Jersey, went still farther. It had a church 
school on the midweek evening. Following the short 
devotional service four classes are conducted. The 
first is a teacher training class; the second, a class 
in Christian Endeavor efficiency for the people of 
that society; the third is a study in church finances 
for the men of the church; and fourth, there is a 
course in Christianity and world problems. Here 
we have a practical educational system. 


108 Church Administration 
SE See eeeeeeeseresteenneeeereneseeee 


Correlation with Educational Activities 


The next step which, so far as I know, is still 
to be taken, is the granting of authority for the 
midweek service to the parties responsible for the 
religious education in the church. In other words 
this should not be a system in itself but should be 
correlated with other educational activities of the 
society. There can be little question but that it 
would be a great asset to the average church school. 

The four subjects taught may not meet the ap- 
proval of every worker, but they are suggestive of 
the possibilities of such a plan. Most people are 
agreed that the opportunity should be utilized for 
a class in missionary work which finds little time 
for expression in the Sunday services. But any 
controversy on this point is beside the question. 


A SCHOOL OF STEWARDSHIP 


Rev. George G. Dowey, while executive secretary 
of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, 
inaugurated a school of stewardship in the form of 
a court which met on Wednesday evenings. The 
pastor acted as the judge and twelve men were em- 
paneled each night to serve as jurors. The congre- 
gation was divided into two groups; the first con- 
sisted of those whose names began with letters A 
to K, and the second those whose names began with 
letters L to Z. These represented the two sides of 
the controversy. 

The decision was based each night upon the fol- 
lowing’ points. 

1. Purchase of books. 

2. Lesson studied. 


The Midweek Service 109 





3. Original poem. 

4. Three-minute speech. 

5. Star witnesses produced. 

6. Pertinent Bible verses quoted. 

7. Questions and answers. 

In explanation of these points of merit: The judge 
would call the court to order (this was preceded by 
a brief devotional service conducted by the assistant 
pastor) and read off the names of the twelve to 
serve on the jury. To some of these, one or the 
other of the ‘‘attorneys” would object on grounds 
that would get a laugh out of the court room, and 
the judge would have to rap for order. This 
humorous phase was not overdone. The jury, men 
and women, would occupy a segregated section of 
seats up front beside the “bench.” The “clerk” sat 
at a table between the jury and the “bench.” 

The judge would then ask for a show of books, 
and the clerk and jury would vote which side, A to 
K or L to Z, possessed the larger number of books. 
This counted so many points. 

Then he asked “How many studied the lesson?” 
And so many points were given to each side. Then 
an original poem from each side was called for, and 
a three-minute speech, and star witnesses on the 
personal practice of stewardship and _ tithing. 
Points were given for the best of these things on 
each side. Each “attorney” would appoint, from 
week to week, certain of his “clients” to write the 
poem, make the speech or appear as a witness. 

Much fun but a great lot of inspiration was im- 
parted by the “attorneys” cross questioning the wit- 
nesses. They would ask such questions as: Are you 
a church member? Are you a Christian, too? Do 
you believe the Bible? Do you attend church regu- 


110 Church Administration 


larly? Do you believe the church should pay her 
bills? Do you think we should support mission- 
aries? Do you believe in giving to the Lord only 
when it is convenient for you? Or only when you 
happen to be in church? Do you believe in pledg- 
ing to the church? Do you believe in pledging so 
much money per quart of milk to the milkman? 
Are you a tither? How long have you been a 
tither? Has it worked a hardship on you? Does 
your wife suffer much from it? How long will you 
keep it up? Would you advise others to practice 
tithing? etc., etc. 

This “witnessing”? and good-natured cross ques- 
tioning brought out some wonderful spontaneous 
testimonials as to the value of stewardship. Then 
the quoting of pertinent stewardship Bible verses 
was interesting and created considerable rivalry. 

The major part of the time was occupied in the 
asking and answering of questions on the lesson. 
The “attorney” of one side or some of his “clients” 
would ask a question for the other side to answer. 
The sides alternated in questions and answers and 
were given points on clearness in asking and cor- 
rectness and conciseness in answering. The 
“judge” would referee the questions, as to their 
fairness, being on the subject, etc. 

At the appointed time, 8.45, the “trial” was over. 
Just before this each “attorney” would give a two 
minutes’ summing up to the jury. The judge would 
then “charge” the jury for just a minute or less and 
it would retire with the court clerk (not strictly ac- 
cording to law) to reach a decision. 

While the jury was out reaching a verdict, the 
committee on dramatizations wouid present a stew- 


The Midweek Service 111 





ardship drama. The several dramas we used with 
good effect are “Thanksgiving Ann,” “Farming 
Eden,” “Starting Right,’ and “Aunt Margaret’s 
Tenth.” 

The jury then returned and read the verdict, 
indicating the number of points for each side. 


DEVOTIONAL TOPICS FOR THE MIDWEEK SERVICE 


The only valuable contribution the author can 
make to this question is in suggesting the use of 
Pilgrim’s Progress as a suitable devotional topic. 
It made possible the best Wednesday night service 
I ever had. We used it during the second half of 
the year, running through the weeks of Lent. 

Very little equipment is needed to prepare one 
for a series of studies. First, of course, the min- 
ister needs his copy of the book. He can buy a 
copy at any price from twenty-five cents to as many 
dollars. Or perhaps if he would make a search 
among his discarded books he would find one. Then 
he should have Bunyan’s Grace Abounding to the 
Chief of Sinners, which is Bunyan’s autobiography. 
This parallels in many ways the story of Christian 
the Pilgrim and furnishes a background for the 
study. A third necessity is a good life of Bunyan. 
That by the Rev. John Brown (who became the 
pastor of Bunyan’s church) is very complete and 
illuminating. ‘The biography by James Anthony 
Froude is also to be recommended. With these 
helps one may feel that he is ready to proceed. 

The book will divide itself into its own lectures, 
though Bunyan did not divide his story into chap- 
ters. I find that I used the following lectures: 


ED Church Administration 





1. John Bunyan. 

2. From the City of Destruction to the Wicket 
Gate. 

3. Interpreter’s House. 

4. The Hill of Difficulty. 

5. The Valley of Humiliation. 

6. Companions of the Way. 

7. Wanity Fair. 

8. Doubting Castle: 

g. The Delectable Mountains. 

10, Enchanted Ground to the Celestial City. 

The people were encouraged to secure copies 
of the book. We offered to supply them for fifty 
cents a copy but urged them to hunt their attics 
through for forgotten editions. And they found 
them. One of the interesting things was the variety 
of editions and illustrations which were produced. 
We also used slides once a month illustrating the 
book and the life of Bunyan. These were very 
helpful in getting across an interest in the course. 

But the book itself was fascinating. One fear 
the writer had in the beginning was regarding Bible 
interpretation. Bunyan was not a modernist. We 
met the difficulty in the first lecture by explaining 
the difference between the view of Bunyan and that 
of the modern Bible student. It was hardly neces- 
sary, however. The story of Pilgrim’s Progress is 
not built on any system of Bible interpretation but 
upon great spiritual principles. 

There are quotations which will strike a response 
in the heart of any spiritual-minded man, even if 
they are taken from their context. Here are some 
I have copied from my own well-marked text: 


It is a hard matter for a man to go down into 
the Valley of Humiliation. 


The Midweek Service 113 





A man may know like an angel and yet be no 
Christian. 

That man that takes up religion for the world, 
will throw away religion for the world. 

Over this stile is the way to Doubting Castle 
which is kept by Giant Despair. 

He asked them moreover, if the shepherds did not 
bid them beware of the flatterer. They answered, 
yes, but we did not imagine that this fine spoken 
man had been he. 


Saints’ fellowship, if it be managed well, 
Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell. 


This may suggest a line of thought for other 
ministers. Would it not be a splendid thing for a 
minister to lead his people through the great classics 
of the soul? Let them become acquainted with the 
books which have shaped life. He can study the 
books as he goes along, carrying the people with 
him. Why not introduce them to Thomas a Kempis, 
Richard Baxter and others? Is it not a thought 
worth while? 


GETTING THE LAYMEN TO WORK 


Rev. William H. Medlar of the Community 
Church, Wayzata, Wisconsin, devised a plan to get 
his laymen interested in the prayer meeting. 

The name, “A Bible Forum on the Psalms of 
David,” was adopted. The forum was to be in 
session seventeen times. The names of the mem- 
bers of the congregation available for leaders and 
helpers were written on slips of paper and placed in 
a box. From this were drawn seventeen names for 


114. Church Administration 





leaders, and six helpers for each leader, making one 
hundred and two helpers. For each of the seven- 
teen meetings, we arranged a group like this: 

One leader, six helpers, consisting of one experi- 
enced worker, two high-school pupils (try to get 
chums), three members of the congregation. 

The topics were taken from the Congregational 
Hand Book, one for each week, and six sub-topics. 

A large chart was prepared containing seventeen 
sections, dated for each group of leaders and 
helpers. There were spaces for credits for the 
number in attendance at each meeting. These 
credits were carefully noted after each meeting. 
The chart was placed in the vestibule of the church. 
Announcement was made that the two largest meet- 
ings would receive public recognition at the close 
of the period. 

A commentary was furnished the leaders and 
many spoke who before this could never be induced 
to express themselves in meeting. The meetings 
were largely attended and the whole plan provoked 
enthusiasm. 


CHAPTER 7 
EVANGELISM THE YEAR AROUND 


WHEN one mentions evangelism do you in- 
tuitively think of revival services? There was a 
time when the two terms were synonymous. In 
practice we know better now. We know that 
evangelism is the much bigger term of the two and 
that a church may be distinctly evangelistic and yet 
never have a revival meeting. Neither will the fair- 
minded man attempt to minimize the results of the 
great revivalists of the past and present. He will 
reverence the memory of Wesley, Finney and 
Moody and acknowledge their great contribution 
to the Church. 

But we must not narrow the term. There are 
many ways of having an evangelistic church. I 
will admit that with one exception, and that one 
the result of a courtesy to neighboring churches, I 
had never in my pastoral experience participated in 
revival services. Yet the churches I have served 
have all had an evangelistic spirit and seldom was 
a communion service held without the addition of 
members on confession of faith. Let us take some 
of the methods which have been successfully used 
and consider them for our own use. 


SUNDAY SCHOOL EVANGELISM 


_ The Sunday school is a good place to begin, for 


it is a field which is always fruitful—there is never 
| 115 


116 Church Administration 


any question of results. I do not like to think of 
Sunday school evangelism in the term of “Decision 
Day.” I think that term was as much to inspire 
the teacher to courage to ask for the decision as it 
was for the child to make a decision. Instead the 
whole curriculum should be devoted to the end of 
bringing the child to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. 
Any failure to bring the youth into full member- 
ship of the church is apt to be the fault of the 
teacher or the school and not of the child. 

From the time that the child is recorded in the 
Cradle Roll the evangelistic opportunity begins. It 
should be consummated in the early years of adoles- 
cence when youth can make a decision. The usual 
Sunday school studies should be supplemented by a 
course which prepares the child for church member- 
ship, not alone in teaching him things about the 
church but in helping him to see the value of 
spiritual things. | 

The pastor’s class is becoming a regular feature 
in many churches. The churches whose polity has 
provided for confirmation classes are especially well 
organized for this kind of evangelism. It is usually 
conducted by the pastor and a very definite course 
of instruction is used. It should last more than four 
weeks. From early in the fall until Easter is not too 
long. Sometimes the class will meet at the Sunday 
school hour. More often it meets at the close of 
school on some week day. 

This type of evangelism is greatly helped if it is 
possible to secure the attendance of the children at 
the church service, especially during the service of 
worship. This has been successfully accomplished 
in two different ways. One is to have a children’s 
sermon by the pastor in an early part of the service, 


Evangelism the Year Around ae 





after which they are permitted to leave. A second 
way is to form a league for church attendance. In 
this league a system of recognition is used similar 
to the “Cross and Crown” system for Sunday school 
attendance. Where used it has been very effective. 

The Sunday school offers a unique field for evan- 
gelism in another way. It is usually true that there 
are children in the Sunday school who come from 
non-church homes. This should form a point of 
approach for securing new adult members for the 
church. When parents send their children for re- 
ligious instruction they are at least approachable. 
The pastor should know who these children are, 
where they live, and should find some means of 
approach to them. 

Let a survey of the school be made. It will be 
a simple procedure. Supply each teacher with forms 
enough for her pupils and make her responsible to 
see that they are returned completed. The form 
need not be elaborate. This is sufficient. 


WESLEY MEMORIAL CHURCH 


Sunday School Records 


PATE T a SE ULE i ale wine olmimeecahe WIS So nte (alae ta me, @ Deepa Iai 
Father’s name 

Where is he employed? 2.2.0.0... bee esis ae eens eee ere g's 
Is pupil a member of the church? Yes or No?.........--. 
Are parents members of any church? Yes or No? 

What church do they attend? ........ cee cece ee ee eee e tenes 
Sunday School Class? ......cseeeeeeeeee cee eet cent eeeceees 


Teacher. 





This survey can be conducted quietly and will 
give the pastor a working basis for a campaign of 


118 Church Administration 





quiet personal work which will increase his church 
attendance and bring many members into the 
church. 


PERSONAL EVANGELISM 


This naturally brings us to a discussion of per- 
sonal evangelism as a method for the pastor. The 
prime requisite for personal evangelism is seen in 
the Sunday school survey. It gives a list of definite 
people to be reached. When that list is achieved 
the work is half done. The main difference between 
mass evangelism and personal evangelism is this 
definiteness. The one is shooting an arrow in the 
air; the other is shooting toward a definite mark. 
The one is the method of the auctioneer; the other 
is the method of the bond and automobile salesman. 

The minister who is to do personal work must 
have people definitely in mind to work on. This 
list of names may be called, for convenience, “‘Pros- 
pective Membership List.” It will be compiled in 
many ways. The Sunday school survey gives some 
names. Others will be secured from the various 
church organizations. Every society should report 
to the pastor names of those who are interested in 
the society who are not church members. Others 
will be secured by keeping watch for people who 
attend the services. When the same people are ob- 
served for several Sundays in succession they should 
be placed upon the list. 

Every minister should have such a list of pros- 
pects. Atcertain times he might talk over the entire 
list with his official board. Let them forget money 
for an evening and concentrate on these names. 
There is a strange psychological law that works 


Evangelism the Year Around 119 





when good men begin to concentrate in this way. 
I have seen my own official board astounded after 
the Easter ingathering when the Prospective Mem- 
bership List of December is compared with the new 
members enrolled on Easter Sunday. It pays to 
take time to secure a good list of prospects and then 
to concentrate. 

The evangelistic minister will use his entire or- 
ganization for the accomplishment of his aim. He 
will consider every church society as a unit in his 
plan to reach men and women. Every social eve- 
ning will offer opportunities to him and his workers. 
He will plan his year with the thought in mind of 
bringing people into his church. 


THE OFFICERS RETREAT 


I place this under the chapter on Evangelism be- 
cause it is that in the largest sense. If properly 
conducted it will lead to the evangelistic spirit in 
all parts of the church activities. We will take the 
plan of the Lake Avenue Baptist Church, Rochester, 
New York. 

Many churches have found it valuable either dur- 
ing the summer or in the early fall to gather to- 
gether for one or two days the church officers and 
heads of departments of the church work in order 
to set up plans for the work of the year and secure 
a unified understanding of the goals to be achieved. 
It has the further advantage of permitting a rather 
careful recheck of the work of the previous year and 
the securing of suggestions for the strengthening 
of the work from all those who have been most 
closely identified with it. 

In order to draw out the frankest and most use- 


120 Church Administration 
SoTL tid SRI 
ful suggestions from such people one church has 
found it helpful to send out ahead of time to all the 
leaders in the church work a questionnaire asking 
them frankly to state whether they have any sug- 
gestions that might be valuable in strengthening the 
work in the different departments of the church. 
Criticisms are asked for, if constructive. People 
are asked to note good methods in use elsewhere and 
report on them. 

This questionnaire could well touch, at least, on 
some such items as the following: 


The Morning Service— 
Its music. 
Its ushering. 
The conduct of worship. 
The Sermons— 
What kind are most helpful? 
Any sermon that has been most helpful. 
Topics that the writer would like discussed. 
The Evening Service— 
Its strength or weakness. 
Suggestions for making it more interesting. 
Suggestions About Other Services. 
Religious Educational Department— 
Suggestions as to grading. 
Teaching. 
Departmental work. 
Work that might be undertaken. 
Opportunities of services not yet entered upon. 
Prayer Meeting— 
The type most helpful. 
How could it be strengthened ? 
Women’s Work. 
Young People’s Work. 


Evangelism the Year Around 121 





Men’s Work. 
Administration and Church Finance— 
Point out weaknesses, things that should be 
changed. 
Suggestions on the development of steward- 
ship, ideas about giving, etc. 


Some questionnaires like the above suggest 
enough to stimulate the mind of the one that 
answers and to remind him or her of the sugges- 
tions that have come to them during the year. It 
is practically all that is required. The questionnaire 
is sent out with the understanding that the answers 
may or may not be signed as the writer desires. 

As a result of the answers to these questions, the 
above church has secured the frankest and most 
complete set of suggestions about its work culled 
from the answers from these questionnaires. 

At the conference, which is usually held at some 
place away from the city, where those attending are 
not disturbed, the different sections of the church 
work are taken up in order. The various replies to 
the questionnaires bearing upon that particular sug- 
gestion are then read, plans for the new year out- 
lined, then a general discussion with a formulation 
of recommendations from the conference takes 
place. These recommendations, after the confer- 
ence, go to the department heads responsible for 
carrying them out, as the recommendations of the 
official group of the church. Such a conference has 
almost incomparable value in unifying a church 
and enabling the generally accepted plans for the 
year to be carried through. It further allows people 
who have real criticisms a chance to get them out 
into the open. It conserves also any real sugges- 


122 Church Administration 





tions people may have for improvement of the 
church work. 


THE QUOTA PLAN 


If one of the main objectives is the securing of 
new members, it is possible to assign to each society 
a definite quota of members. The Central Pres- 
byterian Church, Buffalo, New York, has built up 
a large membership on the quota plan. Each 
society, the Sunday school, the choir, the elders, the 
deacons and every other group were given definite 
assignments. This plan has possibilities but it 
would be well for the pastor to check over any lists 
of prospects which they may create. There is 
always a danger that undue zeal will carry the 
worker into somebody else’s parish. I was marvel- 
ing at the results of such a system which a visitor 
was showing me. But my astonishment changed 
to a different kind of interest when he opened his 
notebook to show me the names on his list. Behold, 
among the first six was one of my own elders. 


LAY WORKERS 


Every pastor should have a group of lay workers 
whom he can call upon for special work in connec- 
tion with revival services or any other service. 
Sometimes the official lists form such a committee. 
At other times it will be necessary to create it asa 
special organization. This will not eliminate the 
work of the pastor. He will use this committee for 
the first approaches. They will pay social visits and 
feel out the ground. From them he will gain the 
information which will make it possible for him to 
successfully approach prospects, 


Evangelism the Year Around 123 


DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEETINGS—A FORTNIGHT 
WATCH 


From Akron, Ohio, comes what the originator 
calls “A Fortnight Watch.” This is not the old- 
fashioned revival meeting and yet it is a series of 
meetings to unify the congregation and stimulate 
new interest. Orris W. Haulmann, the pastor, 
chose for the central subject to run through all the 
meetings “The One Trouble and the One Cure.” 
The first service contained the story of Gethsemane 
and each succeeding night a Scripture lesson was 
used which emphasized prayer and constancy. The 
main feature each night was the closing “watch.”’ 

This may be described as follows. Hanging near 
the ceiling, above the pulpit, was an electric mes- 
sage, WATCH WITH ME. In front of the pulpit was 
a picture, “Christ Kneeling in Gethsemane,” also 
electrically lighted. The wiring of these was so 
arranged that they lighted simultaneously with the 
darkening of the auditorium. In the atmosphere 
of these messages all were asked to close their eyes 
in prayer, while from some hidden place would come 
the music of the “watch prayer,” a hymn written by 
Harry D. Clarke of Chicago. At some time in the 
watch the chorus of the hymn would be sung, indi- 
cating the one sure cure for trouble. 


Into my heart, into my heart, 
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, 
Come in to-day, come in to stay, 
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. 


124 Church Administration 








FORWARD STEP WEEK 


This much heralded plan comes from the First 
Methodist Episcopal Church of Penn Yan, New 
York. The newspapers called it a “Bible Mara- 
thon.” Most of them missed the point that the 
Bible reading was merely one feature of an inten- 
sive program. For one week special services were 
held. The pastor, S. G. Haughton, preached and 
there was a choir of sixty voices. Wednesday was 
announced as the Bible reading day. The Old 
Testament was assigned to 147 readers who were 
to read it in their homes during the day. The New 
Testament was to be read in the church. The 
public reading began at 3 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. 
There were 68 readers and each one read for fifteen 
minutes. At the conclusion of the reading the 
pastor preached on the ‘Lost Book.” At the con- 
clusion of the week a decision card was passed 
around which not alone asked for new confessions 
of faith but for various types of service in the 
church. 


THE REVIVAL 


While suggesting other plans we have no inten- 
tion of ignoring the revival meeting. When a 
church decides for a revival the first question to be 
decided is whether or not it will have a professional 
evangelist. If it decides this question in the af- 
firmative he will superinduce his own methods of 
organization which experience has proven to be 
successful. Homer Rodeheaver conducts every 
summer at Winona Lake a school in evangelistic 
methods which is attended by dozens of the pro- 
fession. They go very minutely into the appeals 


Evangelism the Year Around Lene 
A AS ie AORN SCRIP NTL i 
of the revival hour. The fact that many evangelists 
are not reliable should not lead one to feel that 
the entire method should be discredited. But any 
church hiring an evangelistic party would do well 
to go into the contract very carefully, especially in 
regard to financial remuneration. “I only take a 
freewill offering,” has covered a multitude of 
abuses. It is far better if a definite sum will be 
considered for which the church will make itself 
responsible. Responsible evangelists are more and 
more recognizing the justice of this position. 

But many churches will prefer that the pastor 
conduct the revival, possibly with the assistance of 
a neighboring minister. Then the local church has 
the added responsibility for organization. The re- 
vival must have adequate preparation. The church 
must be ready and people must be willing and even 
anxious to serve on the various committees. One 
of the first things to be done when the season is 
imminent is to find out the sentiment of the con- 
gregation. Ask the members to indicate what they 
will do to help the service. Send each one a letter 
with a blank such as one shown on page 126, asking 
that it be returned on the collection plate or by mail. 

The results of this referendum will not alone 
show the sentiment but will suggest names for the 
important committees which will carry on the work. 
Among the important committees are: 

Publicity committee, which will direct all adver- 
tising and see that the papers have news notes. 

Music committee, which will arrange for the 
leader, hymn books, etc. 

Transportation committee. This committee will 
muster the available automobiles to get the infirm 
and those at a distance. 





126 Church Administration 





































MY PLACE IN THE REVIVAL? 





I believe that we have the power and the loyalty, as 
well as the blessing of God and the religious force, to 
promote and to bring to a successful issue a Revival in 
the Blank Church. I believe in codperating with my 
Church and I will be glad to do my best in each line of 
service which I have checked below. 

Regular attendance both services. 

PP ee Regular attendance night service. 

ey Mines Regular attendance day service. 

ce aioe Closing business during day services. 

Sr aE SS Boosting to at least one person per day from now 
till Meeting closes. 

ay ties Inviting others. 

AR Working at altar with penitents, or in after- 
service. 

AAS A: Asking some one to join the Church. 

1 Se aes, Using car to bring others to Church. 

Relator ¢ Praying for Revival. 

Foe Praying in public. 

a aol Praying for some one. 

BS Singing in Choir or Chorus. 

Mies teck Singing in congregation. 

Pha Bt Leading at least one Cottage Prayermeeting. 

Stade Promoting Prayermeeting in my home. 

AM Set Helping in Prayermeeting in my home. 

gh an Doing every reasonable thing that I can to help 
the Revival be a great success. 

ee Responding to every suggestion in the services 
that I can respond to. 


o © ee: 858 5. 


Si eke. Che ete Bee nb ehetiene 0°09) # fore (C1 LSNAES ONO) @ CUSLO)e 8) 6-06 (SLO 9 Sue 
Sele e ELS Bree C10 ere SU Sle te OF ORANG Ari OLS Sh 8 618 68 OSLO (6) fe 18) Cie ee S Se 


eeooveerecreroereoee eset Fee ee 


THE COOPERATIVE REVIVAL 


The Church and the good people of our community 
united and working together to solve our problems of 
sin and make our Church and our community better. 
WE WILL WIN IN GOD’S POWER, and according 
be ae WE CAN DO IT—AND WE WILL 





leet ta from “The Revival” by W. A. Tyson, Cokesbury 
ress. 





Evangelism the Year Around 127 





A finance committee. 

A prayer meeting committee to arrange for and 
conduct the cottage prayer meetings. | 

The ushers’ committee which is one of the most 
important for the success of the meetings. 

The personal workers’ committee, perhaps the 
most important of all, who will work with the min- 
isters at the altar. 

The functions of these committees suggest them- 
selves. It is sufficient here to insist that they be 
appointed and instructed before the meetings open. 
If they have been so instructed when the revival 
opens, everything should be ready to start. If the 
pastor or preacher has the spirit of the real evan- 
gelist he will get results, even in this modern day. 
Indeed, the evangelist method is still one of the 
most potent methods of religious work as is being 
demonstrated repeatedly in city and in country. 


SECURING DECISIONS 


One of the weaknesses in the revival system has 
been the insufficient decision. The conversion 
hasn’t been broad enough, no matter how deep it 
has gone. I have before me now the annual report 
of an evangelistic association. It reports for a 
four-year period, 3,161 conversions; 5,547 reconse- 
crations ; 467 life service pledges; 1,297 family altar 
pledges; 144 Christian stewardship pledges. 

The evangelist and the preacher must stress the 
social side of Christianity. It is a disgrace that 
people are called converts when they assume so few 
obligations. The card which the convert signs 
should give him an opportunity to express his new 
belief and not alone confess it. The form used by 


128 Church Administration 
ee 
the Penn Yan, New York, Methodist Episcopal 
Church, may have too much on it but it is a step 
in the right direction. When I tell you that 135 
signified their willingness to adopt the principles 
of stewardship and 253 agreed to attend prayer 
meeting you will see that it is worth while to suggest 
some method of social expression. 







METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
Penn Yan, New York 
A DECISION AND A FORWARD STEP 


I indicate by my name and cross below some of the things I have resolved to do, 
God helping me. 


— 


I am not a member of the church. I now accept Christ as my personal 
Saviour, and will unite with the Chir cH cus Phasiele siete pelea eters oft 9.6) ol Stese.elee ee ohana 


Se He cal Buelet atte. ie oilb/@ hehe, ere] Sree la, #6 aime) Presa eLs \8lm Se RS h8 (6) Pe. c9'100 81°) SIP) SS aaa eee eee ea 










( ) I ama member of the church, but have not been as faithful to it, nor as 
active in it, as I might have been; I hereby rededicate myself to the 
setvice of Christ and. the church... -.ces-saesekesee ess scseseen reac enes 


I am a member of the church elsewhere and desire my membership trans- 
ferred to this church. 6). 6 ts..ss sae pinks wleanen opere nals nee ys s+ ski's ee Sema 


I am willing to join the SUNDAY SCHOOL........-eeeeeerseeeececces 
I am willing to join the MEN’S CLASS, or BROTHERHOOD.......<%% 
I am willing to join the WOMAN’S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
I am willing to join the WOMAN’S HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY... 
I am willing to join the LADIES’ AID......-seeeceereecesreecereseses 
I am willing to join the EPWORTH LEAGUE......-.seerrreresrsstee 9% 
I Ni possible, attend the PRAYER MEETING AND CHURCH 


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ADDRESS 
CHURCH PREFERRED ....c-eeeeeeeees 





Evangelism the Year Around 129 








AN EVANGELISTIC PROGRAM 


Here in brief space is a complete program of 
evangelization as used by Rev. O. W. Haulmann 
of the Grace Reformed Church, Akron, Ohio. 

First there was Preparation. Plans were care- 
fully laid before the Consistory early in the year. 
A series of sermons, begun early in February, 
looked toward Congregational Evangelistic Activ- 
ity. This series ended on Palm Sunday. Late in 
February, all who were willing to help were asked 
to remain after service. These were divided into 
nine geographic groups, and assigned to individual 
committee rooms. Here each group arranged for 
eight cottage prayer meetings, to be held the second 
and third weeks in March. Leaders also were 
chosen for same, In twenty minutes, 72 meetings 
had been arranged, as well as lists handed out of all 
prospectives living in the group, who were to be 
visited in a friendly way only. Result, 1,500 were 
in attendance at these cottage prayer meetings, an 
average of over 20, and many of the prospectives 
were definitely interested because our folks were 
interested in them. We were all closer to God and 
to Jesus Christ, our Saviour. 

Secondly, there was Evangelization. Selected 
personal workers, trained in part by the pastor, 
followed up this work with the actual invitation. 
These also were divided in the same groups, with a 
leader. Workers reported their findings to their 
leader, the leader to the pastor’s secretary, and she 
her findings, after a personal call, to the pastor. He 
usually found a glad welcome and a ready decision, 
and had time for dwelling on the responsibility of 
the new relation, rather than in using all his time 


130 Church Administration 





to get the decision. Of 158 decisions, only 7 were 
secured by the pastor without lay help. Of this 
number 151 united with the Church on Easter, and 
the others later. 

Consummation: Assembling on Easter in the 
Sunday school room, the new members were divided 
into four groups—baptisms, confirmations, repro- 
fessions, and letters. Each group had two ushers, 
previously trained for the occasion. Singing “On- 
ward, Christian Soldiers,” each group entered the 
auditorium to specially reserved places, a group with 
each stanza. With the help of ushers these were 
received in less than thirty minutes. For the right 
hand of fellowship the ushers led the groups simul- 
taneously to the walls of the auditorium, so that the 
new members entirely surrounded the old. Com- 
munion followed with 1,013 present. 

Conservation. A reception was held in honor of 
new members one week later, carried out by our 
Social Fellowship Committee of the Consistory. 
Same groups are being urged to continue their in- 
terest in the new members, inviting them to any 
special feature of organized activity. The Sunday 
school enrolls those who were not connected pre- 
viously, via Increase Campaign, during May, June 
and July. The pastor definitely plans smaller group 
visitation for coming autumn and winter, wherein 
church attendance especially is the goal, each leader 
of fifty groups reporting to him regularly. Under 
conservation we should also mention that these new 
members, totaling 158, were at once canvassed for 
pledges for church work, pledges totaling $1,600 
being realized. 


Part III: Special Programs 





CHAPTER 8 
SPECIAL DAYS AND PROGRAMS 


It is generally conceded that the practical church 
year, at least as far as execution is concerned, is 
from the fall through to the spring months. More 
and more there is a cessation of active church work 
during the summer months. There are two ways 
of looking at this, of course. Some lament it as a 
confession that the church is yielding to the devil. 
Others feel that more is accomplished by building 
the church program around the active months and 
that preacher, church and people profit by a period 
of relaxation. 

An adjustment to existing circumstances need not 
be considered asa retreat. There has been a radical 
change in social customs throughout the country. 
The vacation habit is a general one. Automobiles 
have made it easy for people to get away. The 
number of people who own summer homes and 
camps has been multiplied by the hundreds in the 
past two decades. The church is serving a world 
which is different. There are churches so located 
that a summer program is an absolute obligation, 
but other churches may lighten their work during 
these months without feeling that they are yielding 
to evil. Especially is this true if they make good 
use of the other months of the year. 

The active months give plenty of opportunity to 
use ingenuity and all of the minister’s mental re- 
sources to keep the congregation interested and 

133 


» 104. Church Administration 





coming. Special days have been with us for some 
time. They are very effective. The tendency seems 
to be at the present time, however, in favor of fitting 
the days into more comprehensive programs so that 
the educational value will be greater. 


STARTING THE FALL WORK 


In the chapter on Evangelism I have given an 
outline of an officers’ retreat which is a very attrac- 
tive way of gettings things going for the fall. This 
should precede the rally day so that all of the officers 
will have had their interest in the coming year 
quickened. Any rally day is much more effective 
if all of the church organizations are represented 
in it. It should be placed at a time when the 
men’s organizations, women’s organizations, young 
people’s societies as well as the Sunday school can 
say, “Now is the time to begin the work for the 
Pails 

A rally day should not consist merely of one 
service. It is well to have one big church service 
but the idea back of the plan is to have every organi- | 
zation ready to start. The Sunday school has prac- 
ticed it for years. It means every teacher, officer 
and pupil ready for the year’s work. It should mean 
the same for the other organizations. The church 
trustees may well codperate and plan to have the 
revenue for the year brought up to date. 

At a time when the community was talking and 
celebrating “Home-coming Day,’ in one of my 
churches we instituted a “Home-coming Day for 
the Church Dollar.” It happened to come at a time 
in the fall when you would naturally see a rally of 
individuals for the work of the winter and a great 


Special Days and Programs 135 





many dollars came home to the church and our 
unpaid pledges were reduced to a minimum. 


THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET 


A different kind of rally day, and yet one which 
has proven very effective, is a home-coming Sunday 
in the early fall. Rev. F. Jefferson Neal, of Brook- 
lyn, has used such a day, basing his appeal upon 
“The Old Oaken Bucket.” In his scheme invitations 
were sent out to every one on the church lists for 
the past five years. The favorite hymns of the old 
days were sung. A quartet sang “The Old Oaken 
Bucket,” and there was a soprano solo, “Memories 
of Galilee.” The organ prelude consisted of a fan- 
tasia of old-time melodies. The Scripture reading 
was upon the Master’s talk with the woman of 
Samaria, while the sermon text was, “And Isaac 
digged again the wells they digged in the days of 
Abraham, his father.” The treatment of the theme 
followed closely the ballad of Samuel Woodworth’s 
“Scenes of Our Childhood,” “The Tear of Regret,” 
and the “Source of Exquisite Pleasure.” The ser- 
vice of worship was followed by a fellowship service 
during which old friends were able to refresh their 
memories of past days. The meeting was concluded 
and climaxed by the singing of “Blest be the Tie 
that Binds.” 


THE HARVEST FESTIVAL 


This service is usually held in early autumn. It 
is especially adaptable in rural communities, but 
there are instances, such as in the Hanson Place 
Baptist Church in Brooklyn, where in a slightly dif- 


136 Church Administration 





ferent way it has been successful for years. [here 
the folks bring canned goods instead of the fruit of 
the field. In this plan a day is set aside for the 
reception of the first of the fruits. Saturday is 
the collection day. The men bring the gifts to the 
church while the ladies decorate the church for the 
occasion. The Sunday service is appropriate for 
the celebration. From Herbert Marsh, of Spirit 
Lake, Iowa, I have gathered two suggestive themes 
for the day. One is from Ruth 2: 4, “Boaz in the 
Barley Field,’ and the other, ‘““God’s Open Hand,” 
Psalm 104: 27-30. 

There seems to be a difference of opinion as to 
the disposition of the gifts. In some instances they 
are auctioned on Monday night for the benefit of 
the church. In others a distribution is made to the 
poor and needy. 


A MONTH FOR FAMILY RELIGION 


We are borrowing this program from Paul F. 
Boller of Watertown, New York, who decided that 
an entire month should be given to the strengthen- 
ing of the religious emphasis in family life. It was 
not a program for the preacher but one in which 
every department of church activity cooperated. 
He took the month of September and gave to the 
month the theme of “Home and Family.” Here are 
some of the features of the program. 

All of the sermons were on the general theme. 
This included the sermons to children preached at 
each of the morning services. 

The evening sermons’ subjects were: 


_ The Breaking of a Home (based on the story of 
Esau and Jacob in the home of Isaac). 


Special Days and Programs 137 
Se Se eeenenseseseeenenenneeereee te 
The Making of a Home (based on the attitude of 
the father toward the prodigal son). 
How to Spend Sunday in the Home. 
The Home and the Church. 


Each Sunday evening there was a question box 
conducted in the interest of the general theme for 
the month. These questions gave color to the 
service and helped to stimulate the interest. On 
the last Sunday night the men’s brotherhood had 
charge and in addition to the pastor there were 
addresses by the superintendent of schools, and a 
visiting director of religious education. 

A special feature was made of the Family Altar. 
Literature was distributed. There was a display 
of books of prayer and Bible stories for children. 
An opportunity was given the adults to sign cards 
pledging themselves to family worship. 

During this month, all through the church, each 
organization made its contribution to the general 
program. ‘The men’s club had a speaker from the 
Children’s Aid Society who discussed family cases. 
The Young Ladies’ Class listened to a representa- 
tive from the Home Economics Club who spoke on 
“Modern Home Making.” One afternoon the of- 
ficers and teachers of the Sunday school entertained 
the mothers of all the children enrolled. A capable 
educator spoke to them on “Religious Training in 
the Home.” | 

Additional features consisted of a family visita- 
tion of the parish, an indoor picnic held in the eve- 
ning. At this picnic all engaged in singing the old 
home songs, and there were games and recreation 
for all. There was a prayer for the home which 
was printed on the church bulletin and repeated by 


138 Church Administration 





all in the service. The pastor, as an additional 
service on his part, made a study of all of the homes 
in which maladjustments prevailed and sought by 
prayer and practical effort to restore their harmony. 

This program is given in detail not so much for 
its repetition, though it is worthy of that, but to 
show the possibility of an intensive month in church 
work, You have noticed how every agency was co- 
operating. This to my mind is very necessary in 
any church campaign. Real leadership will see that 
all of the cylinders of the church are hitting. When 
such is the case you will do something more than 
merely get people to church—though that is worth- 
while—you will make an impression which will 
reach into their hearts and minds. 

A program such as this requires considerable 
thought in advance. Not alone must the societies 
cooperate, but all of the resources of the building 
must be put to use. With some churches there is 
always more or less friction because of conflicts in 
dates for using the various parts of the building. 
One way to remedy this is to have each organization 
submit in advance its program for weeks ahead. 
Then the various dates can be adjusted. It might 
be well to have a chart hanging in some conspicuous 
place which would show at a glance a month ahead 
just how the various parts of the building have been 
allotted. Such a chart can be purchased at a church 
specialty house for a small amount and will prove 
very valuable. 


A CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE 


This service gives a chance for the reading of 
some good Christmas story such as Dickens’ Christ- 


Special Days and Programs 139 





mas Carol. It might take the place of an evening 
service or the usual Christmas observance. 
The order of service will be as follows: 


1. Organ Carol—‘“Joy to the World.” 
2. Contralto Carol—‘‘Here We Come a 
Carolling.” 
3. Congregational Carol—“Adeste Fideles.” 
4. Scripture Lesson. 
5. Contralto and Baritone Carol—“God Rest 
You, Merry Gentlemen.” 
65..\Prayer. 
7. Trio Carol—Good King Wencelas.” 
8. Congregational Carol—‘It Came Upon 
the Midnight Clear.” 
9. Offertory Carol—“Holy Night.” 
Io. Baritone Carol—“We Three Kings.” 
11. A Christmas Story. 
12. Congregational Carol—“The First Noél.” 
13. Illustrated Hymn. 
14. Chimes Carol—“‘I Heard the Bells of 
Christmas.” 


Inexpensive sets of Christmas Carols can be ob- 
tained from C. C. Birchard and Company, Boston, 
Mass., and from the H. W. Gray Co., 159 East 
Forty-eighth Street, New York City, the latter edi- 
tion called “Community Christmas Carols.” 


THE WHITE GIFT CHRISTMAS 


The White Gift Christmas is not a new thing. It 
has been used by many churches for some years but 
it still makes about the best Christian Christmas we 
know anything about. Phoebe A. Curtis is the in- 


140 Church Administration 





ventor or discoverer of this Christmas service. It 
was in 1904 at the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
Painesville, Ohio, that the plan was actually set in 
motion. The idea is taken from an old legend called 
“A Legend of Cathay,” and is as follows: 

“This strange country is called Cathay, and the 
ruler thereof is one Kubla Khan, a mighty warrior, 
who, by reason of his strong will and trusty sword, 
has made himself lord of the whole land. His gOv- 
ernment is both wise and just, and is administered 
for rich and poor alike, without fear or favor. On 
the king’s birthday the people observe what is called 
the White Feast. Then are the king and his court 
assembled in a great room of the palace, which is all 
white, the floor of marble and the walls hung with 
curtains of white silk. All are in white apparel and 
they offer unto the king white gifts to show that 
their love and loyalty are without stain. The rich 
bring to their lord pearls, carvings of ivory, white 
chargers and costly embroidered garments. The 
poor present white pigeons and handfuls of rice. 
Nor doth the great king regard one gift above an- 
other so long as all be white. And so do they keep 
the king’s birthday.” 

This legend is usually printed on the program 
because it is beautiful and suggestive. The main 
purpose of this exercise is evangelistic in the best 
sense. It is an attempt to get people to give self, 
service and substance to their King Jesus.’ 

One of the best results of this “White Gift” pro- 
gram is the rounding up of new helpers in actual 
service for Christ and his church. A list of “Gifts 
of Service’ is printed on the program. It consists 


1 For further particulars, see White Gifts for the King (Meigs Pub- 
lishing Company). 


Special Days and Programs 14] 
—_—_—_—____—— 
of a series of opportunities or needs in the church 
and provides a method by which individuals may 
promise to take up certain lines of church work 
such as to sing in the choir, teach in the Sunday 
school, join some society in the church, try to win 
new members, etc. It is in reality an enlistment 
blank. 

An opportunity is also provided for the giving 
of oneself to Christ. At Christmas there is a 
splendid chance to drive home the importance of 
becoming a Christian. Then the matter of giving 
substance has been very greatly emphasized in many 
places. In this enlistment blank there should be 
some place for a pledge to current expenses or mis- 
sions or for some special object. 


A WATCH NIGHT SERVICE 


Perhaps the old-fashioned watch night service is 
going out of fashion, but there is coming in a new 


:30- 7:30—Supper 3c. 
> 30- 8: oo—Recess. 
:00- 8: 30—Song service, snappy old-time gospel hymns. 
: 30- 9: 00—Literary half hour; 
Reading— 
Talk, “Yesterday.” 
Talk, “To-morrow.” 
(each limited to 10 min.) 

9: 00- 9: 30—Get acquainted. 
9: 30-10: 00—Presenting budget for year. 
10: 00-11 : 00O—Missionary stereopticon lecture. 
II: 00-11: 10—Recess. 
II: 10-11: 25—Singing. 
II: 25-11: 45—Sermon. 
II: 45-12:00—Communion service. 


CO CONT tn 


program, more varied and attractive. There are 
many possibilities in such a service. New Year’s 
gives an opportunity for new consecrations. One 


142 Church Administration 





naturally takes stock and wonders what the new 
year will bring to him. Here are two programs 
from two churches differing widely in their loca- 
tions and their resources. 

The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Roscoe, 
California, used the night not alone as a service of 
consecration but also presented and pledged the 
budget for the new year. 

On page 141 is the program of its services. 

And this is the announcement of a Watch Night 
Service in the Central Methodist Episcopal Church, 
Detroit, Michigan: 


WATCH NIGHT SERVICE PROGRAM FOR 
EVERYBODY 


:00 P.M.-9: 50 P.M. 
Fellowship Hour With Refreshments 
Fourth Floor 


10:00 P.M.-10:50 P.M. 
Service of Prayer and Praise 
CHURCH HOUSE AUDITORIUM 
Mr. Walter B. Heyler 


11:00 P.M.-12:00 Midnight 
Watch Night Service 
Bishop Theodore S. Henderson 


Central Church cordially welcomes Bishop Henderson to its 
pulpit for the Watch Night Service Message. 





A WATCH NIGHT CANDLE-LIGHTING SERVICE 


This is a very appropriate service for New Year’s 
Eve and has a symbolism which will leave a splendid 
impression. The entire service is based on the 
thought that Jesus is the light of the world, and 
that his followers are also the light of the world. 


Special Days and Programs 143 
eee eee 
The program should give everybody present a 
chance to participate. The program briefly is some- 
what as follows: 


Hymn—“Jesus Calls Us O’er the Tumult.” 

Prayer, by Sunday school superintendent. 

Scripture reading, by a representative of 
the Young People’s Society. 

Musical selection, by choir. 

Hymn—Peal Out the Watchword.” 

Address by pastor on “Jesus, the Light of 
World.” 


rt Ren oe tore 


At, the close of the address all the lights are 
turned out and a lighted candle placed on a table 
near the altar. Each person present has received 
previously a candle. Then the congregation sings, 
“Take my life and let it be.” 

At the conclusion of this hymn the pastor takes 
his candle and lights it from the candle on the table. 
As he does so he says, “As I light my candle I pledge 
allegiance to Jesus, the light of the world, and 
promise that during the next twelve months I will 
let my light shine for Him.” 

Then the Sunday school superintendent may 
make a pledge for himself and his staff. The pres- 
ident of the official board will make a similar pledge 
for his body. In each of these instances all con- 
cerned will stand by the spokesman and light their 
candles in succession and then take their places in 
the front of the church. After each official body 
has been recognized a general invitation will be 
given to the congregation to join in this fellowship 
by lighting their candles. Or this last appeal may 
be divided, first asking all members of the church 


144 Church Administration 








to join in the service and then urging any who care 
to give themselves to Jesus and unite with the 
church to join the group standing around the room. 

The service may be appropriately closed by sing- 
ing, “Blest be the tie that binds.” 


UNIVERSAL WEEK OF PRAYER 


Every minister should keep in mind the Universal 
Week of Prayer which comes the first week in the 
new year. This offers an opportunity for special 
services and should, at least, be observed by some 
kind of meetings. The Federal Council of Churches 
of Christ in America usually sends out the programs 
in time for development of the themes. ‘These are 
printed in most of the religious papers a month 
ahead of the date. 


LENTEN PROGRAMS 


The Lenten season means more to the Protestant 
churches to-day than it has sometimes in the past. I 
think this is a good sign. It seems to be one time 
of the year when all of the churches can speak in 
unison. As a matter of fact, in one community 
every business house closed from two to three 
o’clock on Good Friday and in the store windows a 
card appeared stating that the churches in the com- 
munity were holding services at that hour. (See 
page 145.) It was the only instance in local history 
when all of the churches, Roman and Protestant, 
had spoken together. 

The church may do well to have all of its services 
through Lent grouped around a common theme. 
This may apply to the Sunday and the midweek 


Special Days and Programs 145 


THIS STORE WILL CLOSE GOOD FRIDAY 
z2to3 P.M. 


io: US) LTB 


The Churches Are Open For Service of Prayer and 
Meditation at This Hour 





Window Card 9” x13” 


services as well. Some churches designate the mid- 
week services through the period as “Lenten Ser- 
vices.” These may be devoted to some theme suit- 
able for evangelistic appeal or spiritual growth. 
The church which cannot be spiritually minded dur- 
ing Lent will find it difficult to be so at any other 
time. 

Here is a Lenten evangelistic program used at 
the First Presbyterian Church, Independence, Iowa. 
It includes three main divisions. 


I. A School of Evangelism 


This was used to deepen and enrich the spiritual 
life of the communicants of the church. It was led 
by the pastor. The subjects for five nights, Mon- 
day to Friday, were: 

The Holy Spirit (An Analysis). 

Season of the Soul (Laws of the Spirit). 

The Attractive Christ ( Portraiture). 

Jesus, Personal Evangelist (An Example). 

Personal Evangelism (Methods of Work). 





146 Church Administration 


2. A Week of Special Evangelistic Services 


A visiting evangelist led these services, aided by 
a soloist and a chorus choir. The first night was 
Sunday school night. 


3. Communion Service and Reception of Members 


Rev. A. Eugene Bartlett of Pontiac, Michigan, 
is another man who -has found that the Lenten 
season is the time to reach men. His plan of evan- 
gelism is one of organization and personal work 
rather than of meetings. His plan is to select early 
in the season ten picked men and women. They 
are asked to select nine others to codperate with 
them. Then each one in the group will be asked 
to win one person before Easter. The slogan of the 
campaign is “Win One and Stand By.” ‘The or- 
ganization is very simple. Many times some will 
win more than one. One captain won eighteen. 
This method has enabled him to receive 423 mem- 
bers within two years. 

Dr. Elwood A. Rowsey of the First Westminster 
Church, Toledo, Ohio, builds his Lenten campaigns 
around the ‘Comrades of the Come and See.” ‘The 
name is derived from the answer of Philip to 
Nathaniel when the latter asked, “Can any good 
thing come out of Nazareth?’ The reply was, 
“Come and see.” There are really two fellowships 
in the plan, the Fellowship of John and the Fellow- 
ship of Andrew. It is so planned that there may be 
a friendly competition in the search for decisions. 
When these are organized they are sent out to in- 
vite those outside the church to “Come and See.” 
As a result of this plan in 1925, 345 people were 
received into the fellowship of the church. 


Special Days and Programs 147 


LENT 


Vilgrim Lutheran 
Church 


Hair and West Ploriasant Aves. 


SERVICES 


|EACH WEEK] 
DURING 
LENT 


1 To teke care # 
Sof the large 
attendance. 


Sundays 
8:30 A. M. 
10:45 A. M. 
8:00 P. M. 
i Wednesday 8 P. M. 
Thursday 8 P. M. q 


Pastors: 
Alfred Doerffler Rudolph Prange 


Come and Worship With Us 
(E>15 





148 Church Administration 


The renewed interest in the Lenten season has 
made it possible for many cities to hold special noon- 
day meetings during Holy Week in some downtown 
church or theater. These services conducted by 
some speaker of prominence or by a succession of 
speakers have proven very successful. The Luth- 
eran Church has been very active in promoting these 
as have also the various Church Federations in the 
larger cities. They may not be possible in the 
smaller towns but it is well to observe the season 
in some way or another. 


THE CROSS IN LENTEN PUBLICITY 


Ye know 

that ye 

WEre WanlOt 

redeemed 

with cor- 
ruptible things as_ silver 
and gold from your vain 
conversation received by 
tradition from your fathers 

but with 

the pre- 

CHrOtiS 

blood of 

Uri Ste 

aS: e ry Oud 

ayeliaimb 

without 

blemish 

and with- 

out spot 

Teeter ie cal oe 


Special Days and Programs 149 





The cross may very well appear in the church 
publicity during the Lenten season. Many min- 
isters plan their cards so that the form appears. 
On page 147 is an attractive one from the Pilgrim 
Lutheran Church of St. Louis, Missouri. 

A very effective cross can be made for display by 
the printer by a careful spacing of letters of some 
striking text such as one shown above. 






mn “LUTHERAN 
LCS, Noonday Lenten Services 
~ HOLY WEER =: APRIL 6-10 


12:20 NOON TO 12:50 


GOOD SPEAKERS 
COMMUNITY SINGING 


eo ——————————————————E——EE renee | 
STRAND THEA Baronne_and_Gravier_Streets 


Awspices New Orleans Lutheran Churches 










STOLL'S PRIRTING WORKS eGegoo 315-355 EXOWARCE PLact 


A Blotter Announcing Holy Week Services at New Orleans, 
Louisiana 


THE EASTER CALL 


This is a carefully worked-out plan to put the 
laymen at work helping to build up a large class of 
new members for the Easter ingathering. The 
plan itself, is flexible and so may be adapted to any 
type of parish. It consists of four items. The first 
is a four-page folder entitled “The Easter Call.” 
This is a devotional circular for lay use and the 
third page contains the plan for personal solicita- 
tion in the seeking of new members. There are 


150 Church Administration 





lines on which will be written the names of those 
the individual agrees to seek. In this call there is 
also a form which is designed to give notice to the 
pastor of the church as to the result of the calls.’ 
It states in brief: 


I have called upon the following people inviting them to 
join the church. 


I have found the following favorable. 


Signed 





A third form is very similar to the first one. It 
also is called “The Easter Call.’ But it is an invi- 
tation to be given to the prospective members and 
contains arguments for joining the church with a 
pledge card attached. This is to be torn off and 
given to the person giving the invitation or to the 
pastor. The fourth item is a card which the pastor 
mails to every prospect whose name is turned in, 
making a follow-up invitation to that given by his 
lay workers. 


1 For further details of this plan, write Church World Press, 626 Huron 
Road, Cleveland, Ohio. 


MY PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL 
GUIDE FOR HOLY WEEK 


THE SEVEN WORDS FROM THE 
CROSS 


Monday — “Father, forgive them; 
they know not what 

they do.’ Luke 23:24 

The love of Jesus was so great that he 
could pray for forgiveness toward those who 
nailed his hands and feet to the cross. 
Surely greater love hath no man than this. 


Tuesday — “To-day thou shalt be 
with me in paradise.” 
Luke 23:43 


These words were spoken to the criminal 
hanging by his side. Regardless of the past 
of this man, Jesus knew that his heart 
hungered for God. Paradise is for those 
who hunger and thirst after righteousness. 


Wednesday —‘lV oman, behold thy son. 
Behold thy mother.” 
John 19:26-27 
In these words the apostle John was 
united to Mary the mother of Jesus. Jesus 
wants those who shared his love to love 
one another. 


Thursday —“My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me.” 


Matthew 27:46 

This cry is from the depths of the heart. 

Pain for the time seemed to master the 

spirit. Such is our experience. But the 
spirit will conquer in the end. 


Friday “T thirst.’ John 19:28 

It is physical thirst. It is the last re- 
quest for the body that Christ will make. 
There comes a time when the things of the 
temporal body must yield to the demands 
of eternity. 


Saturday — “Jt is finished.” 
John 19:30 
His temporal life was finished. He had 
been true to his call. The body was weary 
but the heart was satisfied. What a satis- 
faction comes to those who are faithful to 
the end. 


Sunday — “Father, into thy hands 

I commend my spirit.” 

Luke 23:46 

The joy of Easter Sunday is the triumph 

of the spirit over flesh. Hallelujah, Christ 

is risen. And not only Christ but all those 

who through him find their redemption 
through him. 


Inside page, Form A. 


MY EVANGELISTIC PROGRAM 
FOR LENT 


As share in the responsibilities 
and joys of the Easter season I 
will personally see the following per- 
sons and invite them to unite with 
the church. I will report the results 
of my invitation to the pastor. 











Signed 


(Form B of THE EASTER CALL has 
been specially prepared to aid in giving the 
invitation to those whom you visit. It will 
help to make your efforts successful and 
furnish the prospect with a devotional 
guide for Holy Week.) 


“The Easter Call.” 


152 Church Administration 


TS 








Of course, this plan will work best where there is 
a healthy personal contact. The wise minister will 
see that his workers have definite prospects to ap- 
proach and that their work is not duplicated. They 
should be encouraged to bring the prospects to the 
church to meet the pastor. But when used as a 
basis of a membership campaign, experience has 
shown that it is very effective. 


q QI jl My dear friend: 






Gs 


~ Vas aS. 








There are friends of yours who 
are very anxious that you should de- 
cide to unite with our Church in the 
Easter Class. May I add my word 
to theirs in urging that you give the 
matter very serious consideration. 
There is no time of the year when 


oi, the Christ appeal is so strong. You 
KIN really must face it and decide one 
Ay way or the other. We hope that you 
if “ 5/16 may become one of us. May I not 
Ky / fies MZ, hear from you soon, 
RAVAN S 

qieat Ny ed Sincerely, 

{a \\ ie 
| 5: TRY 

MA if t CHO CH OTE Co erneeeeenscerecse Ceeeeteeeee 


Pastor 


Ministers’ Follow-up Card 


THREE-HOUR DEVOTIONAL SERVICE FOR GOOD 
FRIDAY 


(The hours during which Christ hung upon the 
cross. ) 


The program for this service was arranged by 
the Rev. J. H. L. Trout of the Bethany English 
Lutheran Church, Cleveland, Ohio. In his plan 
seven churches codperated, each minister speaking 


Special Days and Programs 153 





on one of the “Last Words.”’ But where that is not 
practicable there is still a use of these services. The 
twenty-five-minute periods make it easy for those 
who cannot attend the entire three hours to enter 
and leave. All addresses and prayers will have to 


be very carefully timed to keep the program to 
schedule. 


PART I—Noon to 12:25 P.M. 


ORGAN PRELUDE 

HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Prophecy of the Suffering Messiah, 
Isaiah 53 

HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part I 

PRAYER 

ADDRESS—“Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do” 

HYMN 

INTERMISSION—Silent Prayer and Meditation 


PART II—12: 25 to 12:50 P.M. 


HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part II 
PRAYER 

HYMN 


ADDRESS—“To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise” 
HYMN 


INTERMISSION—Silent Prayer and Meditation 


PART III—12: 50 to 1:15 P.M. 


HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part III 
PRAYER 

HYMN 


ADDRESS—“Behold thy son... Behold thy mother” 
HYMN 


INTERMISSION—Silent Prayer and Meditation 


PART IV—1:15 to 1:40 P.M. 


HYMN 
SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part IV 
PRAYER 


154. Church Administration 








SOLO—"On iCalvary oh 05 0a 53 oe miele rei he aorten ee Creswell 
ADDRESS—“My God, my God; why hast Thou forsaken 
me?” 


HYMN 
INTERMISSION—Silent Prayer and Meditation 


PART V—1: 40 to 2:05 P.M. 


HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part V 

PRAYER 

SOLO—EHE Was for! MORE fab naa ae ettetee eine ee ens ee Blount 

ADDRESS—‘T thirst” 

HYMN 

INTERMISSION—Silent Prayer and Meditation 

OFFERING | (During this intermission, an offering will be 
received to defray the expense of the service) 


PART VI—2: 10 to 2:35 P.M. 


HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part VI 

PRAYER 

SOLO—‘There is: a Green, Hill Far Away”..:....:: Gounod 
ADDRESS—“It «¢s finished” 

HYMN 


INTERMISSION—Silent Prayer and Meditation 


PART VII—z2:35 to 3:00 P.M. 


HYMN 

SCRIPTURE—The Passion History, Part VII 

PRAYER 

SOUO—"Droop, Sacred? ilead 52. ce ek oni aioe. Maunder 


ADDRESS—“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit” 
HYMN 

SILENT PRAYER 

BENEDICTION 


MOTHER’S DAY 


This day is worthy of mention because of the 
many appeals which itcan make. In some churches 
it will become parents’ day. Others will emphasize 
the family unit. Others will use it to give age its 


Special Days and Programs 155 








due. A family day may be good at any time. A 
month was given to this theme in the Delaware 
Street Baptist Church, Syracuse, New York, re- 
cently and a Bible given to the largest family with 
the highest percentage of attendance. It is a good 
thing to offer to print on the church calendar the 
names of families 100 per cent present on family 
day. 

A musical service arranged for Mother’s Day 
may be found in Chapter 5. That service was used 
at the evening hour. Here is a very complete ar- 
rangement of the morning worship, including not 
alone the special liturgical material but hymns suit- 
able for the day. It was prepared by the Rev. J. 
Richmond Morgan and used in the First Congre- 
gational Church, Waterloo, Iowa. 


Order of Service 
MOTHER’S DAY 
Morning Worship, 11:00 O’Clock 


Organ Prelude—‘“Arioso” (Group of Old Melodies: iste cs Frey 
Processional Hymn 520—“Jerusalem the Golden” 


The Call to Worship 
(Minister) : 

Honor thy father and thy mother that thy day may be long 
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 

My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the 
teaching of thy mother. 

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; 
and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 

(Unison) : 

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and the law of kind- 
ness is upon her tongue. Her children rise up and call her 
blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying: “Many 
daughters have done worthily, but thou excelleth them all!” 

Doxology 
Invocation in Unison 

Mother God, as we gather to pay homage to the memory of 

our mothers and to give honor to all good womanhood, may we 


156 Church Administration 





do it with quiet hearts and reverent minds. We thank thee for 
those who represented thee in the distant days of our childhood, 
who suffered for us, toiled for us and gave us our first im- 
pressions of sacrifice and devotion. We pray that some tender 
memory of simpler days may be revived in this service, that 
our mother’s God may become as real to us as it was to her, and 
that this service will bring to us the confidence and inspira- 
tion she always found in thy house. Through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 


Gloria Patri 
Responsive Reading—Selection 33 
Hymn (Tune St. Catherine) . 

I 


In the dark womb where I began 

My mother’s life made me a man. 
Through all the months of human birth 
Her beauty fed my common earth. 

I cannot see, nor breathe, nor stir 

But through the death of some of her. 


2 


Down in the darkness of the grave 
She cannot see the life she gave. 
For all her love, she cannot tell 
Whether I use it ill or well, 

Nor knock at dusty doors to find 
Her beauty dusty in the mind. 


3 
If the grave’s gates would be undone, 
She would not know her little son, 
Iam so grown. If we should meet, 
She would pass by me in the street, 
Unless my soul’s face let her see 
My sense of what she did for me. 
—John Masefield. 


Scripture Reading 
Chorus Choir—“Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”..... Neidlinger 


Pastoral Prayer (From “For God and the People’”—-Rauschenbusch) 
“O God, we offer Thee praise and benediction for the sweet 
ministries of motherhood in human life. We bless Thee for our 
own dear mothers who built up our lives by theirs; who bore 

us in travail and loved us the more for the pain we gave; who 
nourished us at their breast and hushed us to sleep in the warm 
security of their arms. We thank Thee for their tireless love, 

for their voiceless prayers, for the agony with which they fol- 
lowed us through our sins and won us back, for the Christly 
power of sacrifice and redemption in mother-love. We pray 


Special Days and Programs 157 
LL 


Thee to forgive us if in thoughtless selfishness we have taken 
their love as our due without giving the tenderness which they 
craved as their sole reward. And if the great treasure of a 
mother’s life is still spared to us may we do for her feebleness 
what she did for ours. 

“We remember before Thee all the good women who are now 
bearing the pain and weariness of maternity. Grant them 
strength of body and mind for their new tasks. Widen their 
vision that they may see themselves, not as the mothers of one 
child alone, but as the patriot women of their nation, who alone 
can build up the better future with fresh and purer life. Put 
upon the girls of our people the awe of their future calling, 
that they may preserve their bodies and minds in purity and 
strength for the holy task to which the future may summon 
them. 

“As the protecting love of motherhood wrought blindly in the 
earliest upward climb of life, may it now, with open eyes and 
strong with Christly passion, set its tireless strength to lift 
humanity from the reign of brutal force and to found the larger 
family of men on the blessed might of love. Through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord, Amen.” 


Offertory Solo—“Old Refrain’............cccccecee Fritz Kreisler 
Ryan, Flome, sweet, Home”)... 26 si .6ed fase oh doula. besesseayne 





I 


’Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home; 

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, 

Which, seek thro’ the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere. 
Refrain * 


2 


I gaze on the moon as I tread the drear wild, 

And feel that my mother now thinks of her child, 

As she looks on that moon from our own cottage door, 

Thro’ the woodbine whose fragrance shall cheer me no more. 
Refrain * 


3 


An exile from home splendor dazzles in vain: 

Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again; 

The birds singing gaily, that came at my call, 

Give me them, and that peace of mind dearer than all. 
Refrain * 


* Home, home, sweet, sweet home, 
There’s no place like home, 
Oh, there’s no place like home. 


158 Church Administration 


A SSS 





Sermon—*THE UNIVERSAL MOTHER?”............ Luke 2:19 
Recessional Hymn—“Mother” (tune America) 
I 3 
Mother! Most precious name, Through many hours of night, 
It’s evermore the same, When tears bedimmed her sight, 
Earth’s sweetest word! Our pain she soothed ; 
Through ages past have flown, Ne’er gave self a thought ; 
No sound was ever known, Ever for us she wrought; 
Like Mother name alone, With love most tireless sought, 
Or ever heard. All pains to soothe. 
2 4 
From cradle’s earliest day, Our Mother’s God to thee, 
She guarded all our way In deep humility, 
With the tender care. We lift our prayer; 
She shared our every woe, E’er keep those we love best 
Each cherished hope did know. Through every trial and test, 
Heard every whisper low, Give them Thy sweetest rest 
Of childish prayer. Safe in Thy care. 


—From the Bulletin, Tulpehocken Trinity Reformed Church. 
Benediction 
Postlude—‘‘Temple March”... (00.0 csi e ees cep esas eurae Vincent 


THE HAPPY MONTH OF JUNE 


According to Bernard C. Clausen, June is a great 
month for church work. He calls it a Reunion 
Month for his Syracuse church. The first Sunday 
in the month is the reunion for new members. An 
invitation is sent out to all who have joined the 
church under his pastorate and they sit by classes 
according to the year of their decision. The service 
each year is somewhat similar in that the same 
hymns are used, the same sermon preached and the 
same Scripture read. After the service is over a 
photograph is taken of the new members for the 
pastorate. 

The second Sunday is the children’s reunion and 
it coincides with Children’s Day. The entire service 
is turned over to the youngsters. The choir is a 
specially trained chorus of children; a boy presides, 
children announce the hymns, they offer the prayer, 
receive the offering, take care of the ushering, pre- 


Special Days and Programs 159 








sent features of their own, join in a Scriptural 
pageant under the direction of the Sunday school 
superintendent. The pastor takes but a few min- 
utes for his sermon. The Sunday school for the 
day is omitted, so if the service runs over the hour 
no apology is made. 

The third reunion for the month is the Wedding 
Bells reunion. For this are summoned all of the 
couples married during the pastorate. They are 
given a special section of the auditorium, to their 
babies there is extended the courtesy of the nursery. 
In the nursery a prize may be offered to the best 
baby boy and best baby girl. The sermon, of course, 
deals with the principles of the Christian home. 

The fourth reunion is the one of Silver Threads. 
All Christians over seventy are invited to this. A 
fleet of automobiles is commandeered to provide the 
transportation, easy chairs are placed just before 
the pulpit, a sermon on the beauty of Christian age 
is preached and the usual reunion picture is taken at 
the close of the service. Dr. Clausen believes that 
the pictures of these occasions are among the de- 
lightful experiences of the members. The display- 
ing of them in corridor and lounging rooms is sure 
to awaken sweet memories which endear the rela- 
tionship with the church. 


SUMMER PROGRAMS 


When we leave June and pass into the summer 
months material for successful programs is not 
plentiful. The majority of churches run very light 
during the summer months. Some close up entirely. 
Long vacations are both a blessing and a curse to 
ministers. Many reason that it is just as well to 


160 Church Administration 





let things remain very quiet so that the congregation 
will have a rest, as well as the minister, and feel 
strong for the next season’s work. 

Other churches do not reason this way and they 
plan a program of offensive for the warm months. 
One of the best and most effective ways of working 
is through the Daily Vacation Bible School. 


Daily Vacation Bible School 


This school probably belongs under the church 
or Sunday school but in reality it requires the co- 
operation of everybody to make it a success. It is 
an attempt to bring the children in from the streets, 
provide them with recreation, hand work of various 
kinds and Bible instruction. Its great success lies 
in the fact that its appeal is broader than the local 
church and children from outside are attracted to 
it. The school requires the services of trained 
teachers and for that reason there must be a budget 
to cover it. The total cost may run from a few 
dollars into the thousands. The First Lutheran 
Church at Dayton, Ohio, allows a budget of $2,500 
for the Daily Vacation Bible School and pays the 
teachers more than the average paid public-school 
teachers. The school is graded and given work 
from the kindergarten up to the high-school ages. 

The school usually lasts from 8.30 to 11.30 A.M. 
The term may be two weeks, three weeks or even 
longer. The order of the daily program is divided 
like this (this is merely suggestive). Other schools 
might prefer a different program. 


Kindergarten. 
8.30 Prayer. Good morning songs. 


Special Days and Programs 161 


9.00 Rest Period. 

9.45 Marching Period. 

10.10 Recess. 

10.30 Dramatization of Bible Stories, 

11.00 Dismissal Exercises and Closing Prayer. 


For the Grades. 
8.30 Prayer and Bible Study. 
9.30 Memory Work. 
9.45 Recreation. — 
9.55 Assembly with a Devotional Period and 
Study of Hymns. 
10.35 Mission Study or Handwork. 
11.30 Dismissal. 


High School Age. 
This age is usually limited to one hour’s 
instruction in the Bible or missionary 
work, 


The International Handbook of Vacation Bible 
and Church Schools makes the following suggestion 
as to schedule: 


Essential Elements of the Daily Program 


Time schedules for the various departments of a 
graded Vacation School may be found in the de- 
nominational Handbooks and books on organization. 
A definite schedule moving harmoniously from one 
feature to another is the essential basis of any suc- 
cessful school. The usual order is: 


Preliminary inspirational service for teachers. 
Assembly of the children, marching in to music. 


162 Church Administration 
EE ————————————————————————————— 
Worship Service. 
Brief missionary incident and offering. 
Music Instruction period. 
Instruction Period, including: 
Bible stories. 
Bible memory work. 
Verse Finding Contests. 
Teaching through expressional activities: 
Seasonal or Department projects. 
Dramatization of Bible stories and hymns. 
Handwork, properly motivated. 
Closing Exercises: 
Character or habit story. 
Salute and pledge te the National and Christian 
Flags. 
Recessional March. 


Out-of-door Services 


With other churches the summer program has 
taken the shape of outdoor services. Sometimes the 
church has a lawn on which the people may be 
seated. In many towns churches have united for 
Sunday evenings holding services in the park. 
Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York 
has a roof garden where an afternoon service is 
held in the warm months. Marble Collegiate 
Church in the same city has an outdoor pulpit with 
a service daily during the summer at 12.30. In 
these services wind musical instruments are very 
effective as a call to worship and to aid with the 
hymns. 


Special Days and Programs 163 


ADVERTISING THE SUMMER SERVICES 


Other churches have not facilities for these ser- 
vices. But there still remains the possibility of 
advertising the services or the speakers, if they be 
visitors, so as to play up the program. Instead of 
assuming that the services will drop off materially 
during the warm months assume that the attrac- 
tions will bring more people. Don’t expect the 
people to say good-by to the church when you do. 
Instead say something like this by good announce- 
ments. 


Don’t Miss 
THE DISTINGUISHED PREACHERS 
at the 
WALDEN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 


Sunday mornings in August 


An unusual chance to hear some of the great 
men of the church. 





LET THE AUTOMOBILE HELP 


And finally there is an invitation idea which may 
be worth a great deal to you. It is a plan for put- 
ting the automobiles at work to build the congrega- 
tions in warm weather. It comes from the Center- 
ville Methodist Episcopal Church, West Warwick, 
Rhode Island. (See page 164.) 

A proper organization of the automobile strength 
will make it possible to take gospel services to out- 
lying districts on Sunday evenings. It will also 
make possible an exchange of congregations. The 
exchange of ministers has been more or less com- 


164 Church Administration 


———— SSS SSS esas 


CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP 


THIS CERTIFIES THAT 
becomes a member of the A. B. C. AUTOMOBILE CLUB 
by paying the initiatory fee of one car full of folks. Said 
fee payable at the House of Friendliness, Sunday evening, 


at 7.30 o'clock. 

Good and regular standing will be maintained by weekly 
payment of dues equal to the initiatory fee. 
West Warwick, R. I. 


Chauffeur. 





mon. Why not enlist the automobiles and decide 
to have the entire congregation visit some church in 
a neighboring city on a certain Sunday night? The 
church visited will probably gladly reciprocate. 


CHAPTER 9 
YOUNG PEOPLE’S WORK 


Ir is still difficult to place the responsibility for 
the young people’s work of the church. There is 
unquestionably a tendency to leave it to the super- 
vision of the Sunday school. As such it belonged 
in the province of religious education. But such 
supervision has not always solved the problem by 
any means. Granting the need of the educational 
method, we may still question if that is sufficient. 
Many times the school organization has not pro- 
vided the expressional activity which is necessary to 
sustain a healthy organization. | 

The conventional type of young people’s organi- 
zation has its weakness at the other side. It pro- 
vides for the expressional side but is weak in its 
educational method. Some churches have tried to 
combine the two. Others frankly use both for the 
advantage to be gained by both methods. Others 
try to have organized classes to furnish the expres- 
sional work. The observation of the writer is that, 
while our educational instruction is of a higher kind 
than ever before, our present system of organized 
classes is not producing the consecrated church 
workers that the Christian Endeavors and Epworth 
Leagues of a generation ago did. 

Weare interested here, primarily, not in either of 
these two methods but in the plans used by min- 
isters to keep the youth of the church in touch with 
the services of worship and working them into the 


active organization. It has been unfortunate that 
165 


166 Church Administration 


there has been a distinction between the “church” 
and the Sunday school. The service of worship and 
the school sessions are but rightly expressions of 
the same organization. 


THE THREE-PERIOD SESSION 


Dr. A. W. Beaven of the Lake Avenue Baptist 
Church, Rochester, New York, has worked out a 
three-period session plan which tends to tie the youth 
up with the church and the adult with the Sunday 
school. I will let him tell about his plan, which is 
of interest to all churches seeking more time for 
educational purposes. 

We extend the instruction period which we have 
with the children on Sunday until it gives us the 
additional hour for religious instruction which we 
would get on week days. It had added advantages, 
too: First, that it was offered to all our children 
instead of simply to those who were near the school; 
second, we could offer it to them without their mak- 
ing a separate trip to the church with the necessary 
expense of transportation; third, we did not have 
to heat the church an additional time; fourth, we 
used our present force of teachers. The essence of 
the plan is as follows: 

We plan to begin our religious educational pro- 
gram at the same time that our church service 
begins, at 10:30 in the morning. The children are 
asked to come and sit with their parents. The wor- 
ship part of our religious training which, for the 
children, used to be given in the opening exercises 
of the school, is now given in the first part of the 
church service from 10:30 to 11:15 in the church 
auditorium. This simply means that the worship 


Young People’s Work 167 





period of the ordinary morning service had such 
changes made in it as would make it of interest to 
the children. At 11:15 a recessional is held at which 
time the children of fourteen years of age and under 
march out and go to their various departments, 
where they are met by their instructors and a lesson 
course of forty-five minutes in length given them. 
Those oyer fourteen remain for the sermon. When 
the church congregation is dismissed at twelve, these 
groups dismiss for ten minutes; then the children, 
and adults as well, go into the third period, from 
12:00 to 1:00. This enables us to offer our children 
ninety minutes of instruction on Sunday where they 
had thirty minutes before, and gives them forty- 
five minutes for their worship period in the best 
environment we have to offer, as over against the 
twenty minutes of “opening exercises” on the pre- 
vious plan, which for the most part had but a 
secondary worship value. 

It is quite the rule to-day to preach a sermon to 
children during the early part of the church serv- 
ice. There are churches which go further than 
this, maintaining a junior church for children. 
The junior church is an organization for worship 
conducted as far as possible by the children them- 
selves. Its organization parallels the senior or- 
ganization and the thought is that they are train- 
ing for future church service. In many places it is 
held at the same hour as the public worship, one of 
the pastors preaching the sermon. Other churches 
have the children meet in the regular service, leav- 
ing after the sermon to children. Then they go to 
their own service, which consists of hymns and de- 
votions with possibly some short talks by the chil- 
dren themselves. 


168 Church Administration 





The order of service will depend largely upon 
the denominational affiliation. This order is that 
of the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, Johns- 
town, Pennsylvania. This is evidently conducted 
without a minister, 


JUNIOR CHURCH SERVICE 112 00-O7CEQG 


Prelude} Sonatina’ et ae Pn ee Kuhlau 
Intercessory (Congregation Standing )— 

“Break Thou the Bread of Life, dear Lord, to me, 

As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea. 

Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord; 

My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word.” 
Invitation to Worship— 

The Lord is in His Holy Temple. Let all the earth 
keep silence before Him. 

Response by Congregation— 

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel 
before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God, and we 
are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. 

Prayer— 

“Almighty God, unto Whom all hearts are open, all 
desires known, and from Whom no secrets are hid, cleanse 
the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy 
Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily 


magnify Thy Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.” 


“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow.” 
Hymn, 249. 

The Apostles’ Creed. 

Prayer, Concluding with the Lord’s Prayer. 

Bolo, JiMy Paecipis Bibletimen. ony eae on Jackson 
iano. Soll. eUPOresauel gale ute yee | aloes Dvorak 
The Psalter, Page 4. 

The Gloria Patria. 

CorertOry,(aest URGE Was vote oat sae gee Kennedy 
Hymn, 202. 

Lesson, ‘‘Archibald Forder.” 

Hymn, 122. 

Benediction, “The Lord Bless Thee and Keep Thee.” 
Postlude. 


Piano 
Violins 


Young People’s Work 169 


LL LR SL A SESS SSCS SSS SESS" SRS 





ORGANIZATIONS FOR YOUTH 


The Boy Scouts have captured many churches. 
With a strong central control the organization has 
spread until it has its troops in most communities. 
It is a splendid organization and is adapted to 
church cooperation. Where possible, if the various 
patrols can be identical with Sunday school classes 
and the troop with a department in the school, the 
coordination will be quite complete. 

Other plans provide for ritualistic and symbolic 
organization. Such is the order of “The Knights 
of King Arthur,” founded by William B. Forbush, 
and now has its headquarters at Media, Pennsylva- 
nia. This is an order based on the story of the 
Knights of the Round Table wherein the candidates 
pass through the various degrees from kitchen 
knave to knight, with an appropriate service for 
each degree. The various members assume each a 
name of some legendary knight and are taught to 
emulate those virtues peculiar to knighthood, such 
as chivalry, honesty, help for the unfortunate, etc. 

Another secret order which has as a feature that 
it includes both young men and young women is 
known as the “Comrades of the Way.” The name 
is chosen from the use of “The Way” in the New 
Testament in referring to the Christian way of 
life. It has its origin in Needham, Massachusetts, 
and was first used by the Rev. Harry W. Kimball 
of that place. The various stages of the degrees 
symbolize the steps of growth in Christian charac- 
ter. The plan can be illustrated by these sections 
from the constitution.’ 


1 Further information can be secured from the founder, Harry W. 
Kimball, Needham, Massachusetts. 


170 Church Administration 





ARTICLE I 


The name of this organization shall be The ............ 
Chapter Number’. 2) Dr thetstateot iy. pears , being a 
chartered Chapter of The Comrades of The Way. 


ARTICLE II 


The purpose of this Chapter is to band together the young 
men and young women of the ........... OC) oo0' i atten 
for fellowship, for inspiration, for instruction, and for 
service. The Order to which this Chapter belongs is a 
mystical comradeship who are traveling with the Master 
Jesus, striving to learn His way of life. 


ARTICLE III 


Any young man or woman fourteen years of age or over 
shall be eligible for membership who is willing to sign the 
following: 

My DestrE AND My Purpose 
To do the Right, 
To seek the Light, 
To climb the Height, 
With all my Might. 
For truth to Fight, 
To help man’s Plight, 
As in God’s Sight. 


ARTICLE IV 


Each person admitted to membership in the Comrades of 
The Way shall receive the Admission Step of the Order, 
and before receiving this step shall have learned by heart 
the following: 


My Desire aNnD My PurPOSE. 

Tue DoxoLoGy OF THE ORDER. 

THE CONSECRATION HYMN OF THE ORDER. 
Tue MarcuHInc HyMN OF THE ORDER. 


Young People’s Work 171 








ARTICLE V 


There shall be an Inner Circle of the Comrades of The 
Way to which all Comrades who have received the follow- 
ing three Steps shall be eligible: 

THE CouRAGE STEP. 
THE Loya.tty STEP. 
THE SERVICE STEP. 


ARTICLE VI 


There shall be an Inmost Circle of the Comrades of The 
Way to which all Comrades who have been admitted to the 
Inner Circle shall be eligible when they have taken the 
following Steps: 

THE STEP oF FArITH. 
THE STEP oF Goop WILL. 

The Steps of Faith and Good Will shall be taken during 
the Assembly of the District Chapter, and under direction 
of the Comrades of the Inmost Circle. (See further in- 
structions in the Constitution of the District Chapter of the 
Comrades of The Way.) 


ARTICLE VII 


Men and women of adult age, or Comrades who have 
taken the Steps to the Inmost Circle, shall be invited to 
unite with the Companions of Jesus, whose purpose is to 
bear the Cross in Service with Jesus Christ, and to give 
comfort to His Church, and to aid in the growth and de- 
velopment of Comrades of The Way. 


EQUIPMENT FOR WORK 


Sometimes we think that a church must have 
every kind of social equipment to draw young people 
toit. This is not true. Many churches which have 
built parish houses, equipped with gymnasia and 
other features, have found that these alone are not 
sufficient. Other churches lacking these facilities 


: 


call 


We Church Administration 





have youth thronging the doors. The successful 
policy seems to be the one that interests the youth 
in doing something for the church and for society 
and not merely in amusing himself. It is true that 
many young people cannot be reached in a program 
of this nature but the church must consistently feel 
that its mission is to appeal to those who seek the 
most worth-while things. 


SUNDAY EVENING TEA 


The Sunday evening tea has become very popu- 
lar in many churches. Here is a simple plan as it 
is effectively worked. The social hour for the tea 
is from 5:30 to 6:30 o’clock. Each week some 
church official, with his wife, is selected to serve as 
host to the young people. The term is not an exact 
one for more often the official visitor is a guest 
while the young people act as hosts. The hour is 
spent in singing, in informal games suitable for a 
quiet Sunday evening and in an opportunity for 
those present to get acquainted. Light refresh- 
ments are served. If the church has a cozy home- 
like room, the meeting should be held there by all 
means. Following this social hour there comes the 
usual devotional service to which all are invited and 
to which most will stay. The devotional meeting 
gains rather than loses by this method as all the 
members will be there on time. 


YOUNG PEOPLE’S NIGHT 


This idea is a little more elaborate than the Sun- 
day evening tea. It consists in turning the entire 
evening service over to some young people’s organi- 
zation. They arrange the program, announce the 


Young People’s Work 173 








hymns, read the Scripture, make the prayer and 
take charge of all of the details of the service. It 
is not required that the sermon be given by the 
youths but they arrange to have a speaker who will 
have a suitable topic. John R. Scotford, of Cleve- 
land, thus describes his experience with this form 
of service. 

“Several times the young people have done all the 
speaking themselves. A very lively debate on Sab- 
bath observance was the first of our ventures in 
this line, and proved most successful. On another 
evening the young people discussed what they 
wanted of the church. Some of the ideas advanced 
were rather wild, but it seemed well to let them get 
it all out of their systems; and the fact that they 
were encouraged to stand in the pulpit and criticize 
the church, refuted some of the things which were 
said. College Night proved a most profitable ven- 
ture. Two of the young people told why .they 
wanted to go to college. Two of the young people 
of the church who were attending local schools told 
how it felt to be a freshman. In conclusion, a man 
and a woman from the congregation told what col- 
lege had done for them. Such an evening’s discus- 
sion was thought-provoking, both to the young peo- 
ple and to their parents. 

“On other occasions the young people from out- 
side the church have been featured. The most suc- 
cessful single occasion was the visit of a deputation 
of four young men from Oberlin College. The boys 
came in the morning and stayed all day, speaking 
and teaching in Sunday school, singing and giving 
the children’s talk at the morning service, eating 
dinner, and walking with the girls in the afternoon, 
speaking at Christian Endeavor, and then conduct- 


174 Church Administration 





ing the evening service. The speaker was a Chinese 
student who had only been in the country six months. 
Needless to say, this constituted a day which the 
young people will never forget. On another occa- 
sion, the departure of one of the girls for summer 
service with the Sunday School Extension Society 
was made the basis of a most profitable evening. 
On a third occasion the Cleveland Congregational 
Pageant Players, an organization of the young peo- 
ple of several of the churches, presented the religious 
drama, The Rock. Of all the programs presented, 
this was probably the most deeply religious. In 
the future it is hoped that groups of young people 
from other churches can come and take the entire 
service. | 

“On two occasions ministers have spoken, but on 
unusual themes. One evening the pastor of the 
colored church and his young people were invited to 
be our guests. The young people provided some 
very unusual music, and the minister gave us some 
lessons in ‘Thinking Black.’ The attendance was 
good, and the criticism less than might be expected. 
On another occasion a returned missionary from 
China spoke, showing both pictures and curios. As 
the school was working on a project in China, this 
fitted into the scheme of things. 

“The general custom has been to follow the serv- 
ice with a social hour. The purpose is to increase 
muttial acquaintance, especially among the young 
people. Ina number of instances young people of 
other churches have been invited as guests for the 
evening. Any one working with young people 
knows that one of their great desires is to enlarge 
their acquaintance, and that a new friend from the 
other end of town is worth much more than an old 


Young People’s Work 175 
one who lives around the corner. Interchurch fel- 
lowship may be a means of meeting a very real need 
of the young folks. A social following a church 
service enjoys certain marked advantages. It be- 
gins with everybody there and in a common mood. 
It need not last long. It comes at a time when no 
one is in a hurry. 

“Tn this particular church the social is held down- 
stairs. All the young people and about half of the 
older folk can be counted on to stay. The program 
is very simple. There is a ‘mixer’ to begin with, 
some sort of a guessing contest, and possibly one 
game. Then light refreshments are served— 
usually cocoa and cake or cookies. In warm 
weather it may be nothing more than lemonade and 
wafers. Then if any musical talent is available, it 
is called upon. The evening closes with the people 
standing about the piano singing a few hymns, clos- 
ing with “Blest be the tie that binds’ and a brief 
prayer. It is better to end in this fashion than to 
let the meeting gradually break up.” 


OTHER PLANS OF SERVICE 


Plans of social service always appeal to young 
people. They may well have a part in the program 
of activities. One group is reported to hold re- 
ligious services in the district jail, Another group 
finds a service in providing the music for the reli- 
gious service at the county home. There are down- 
town missions which are always glad for the help of 
these young people. A different kind of service is 
one where the young people’s organization invites 
the children of some orphanage for a party, provid- 
ing them with a good time. 


176 Church Administration 





DRAMATICS 


Dramatization is a thing which always appeals to 
youth. It is a laudable appeal and may well be 
made a regular part of the work of any society. 
Every church is constantly meeting in social gath- 
erings when a dramatic sketch would add to the 
pleasure. What could be nicer than to have a group 
pf young people working on a play to be given at 
such a gathering? Part of the work should be 
Biblical or missionary and then it would be suitable 
for the Sunday evening service. Why not give the 
society a chance to put on a Biblical drama one Sun- 
day night a month, or at least to preface the sermon 
with one. 


THE CHURCH PROCTORSHIP 


This is an idea which originated with the Morn- 
ingside Presbyterian Church, New York City, and 
has for its purpose the bringing of eligible young 
men into a closer relationship with the church than 
otherwise might be possible. The plan is distinct 
from that usually sought through a class or a club, 
though it includes both a class andaclub. There is 
a training class which the candidate attends for 
two years before he becomes eligible for the “Proc- 
tor’s Association,” which is a young men’s club. 
This club furnishes the enthusiasm of group or- 
ganization. Through it the young men come in 
contact with the strong laymen of the church. Each 
year the association elects its own president and the 
following year he automatically becomes a church 
proctor. 


Young People’s Work 177 
PN AA MR dt al Fecal 


The Installation of the Proctor 





The proctor is installed at a church service ar- 
ranged for the occasion. At this service the proctor 
must deliver from the pulpit a paper which he has 
prepared. 

He must take the oath of office given to him by 
his minister or other person in authority. 

He shall be charged by a visiting minister. 

He shall receive a robe of office which is to be 
worn when he is on pulpit duty. 

The form of administering the oath of office, as 
used at the Morningside Church, is as follows: 

(The proctor-elect will come forward, taking his 
place before the pulpit, whereupon the minister shall 
say. ) 

Mr. , having met the prescribed conditions, 
and having been duly chosen the proctor of the 
Morningside Church, and having signified your 
willingness to accept this office, I now require you 
to answer the following questions which constitute 
your oath of office: 

Do you accept for yourself the duties of proctor 
of this church as outlined in the rules relating to 
this office? 

Do you promise to perform these duties cheer- 
fully, faithfully, conscientiously, in so far as ability 
in you lies? 

Do you promise to try in your personal life to set 
an example of Christian living for the young peo- 
ple of this church? 

Do you promise to study to find more effective 
means of enlisting, winning, and training the young 
people of this community for the Kingdom of God? 

Do you promise to pray constantly that God 





178 Church Administration 


———————— 











through his spirit may lead this church in all its 
work? 

(Turning to the Congregation.) 

Do you promise your full loyalty to this young 
man as he assumes the duties of church proctor for 
the coming year? Will you signify your willingness 
by raising your right hands? 

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the 
authority committed to me in His church, I hereby 
declare you duly set apart to the office of proctor. 

May the blessing of God attend you in this work 
you undertake for him and his church. 

I give you now the right hand of fellowship to 
take part with me in this sacred work. The Lord 
bless you. 

In the name of this church I present you with this 
robe as a badge and insignia of your office. May 
you honor it with faithful Christian service. May 
it, with the office it represents, bring joy, confidence 
and peace to you. Amen. 

The proctor then virtually becomes the pastor's 
assistant. Here is a list of his duties. 


The Duties of the Proctor 


He will offer his services cheerfully. 

He will, in so far as he is able, perform any serv- | 
ice related to his church, to which his minister as- 
signs him. 

He will always be alert in his church, seeking to 
discover ways wherein he can be helpful in any part 
of the work or worship of the church. 

He will usher, in the absence of the regular usher. 

He will escort any visiting minister or speaker to 
the pulpit. 


Young People’s Work 179 
—_——— 

He will preside at any public service in the min- 
ister’s absence, if so requested by the minister. 

He will arrive at the church in time to see that 
everything is properly arranged for the service,— 
that the hymns and psalter selections are properly 
posted, and that the Bibles, hymn-books, and chairs 
are in their places. 

Fle will accompany the minister into the pulpit, 
and act as his assistant in the services of worship, 
taking such parts as may be assigned to him, as the 
announcement of hymns, the weekly announcements, 
the leading of the responsive reading, or the recep- 
tion of the offering. 

He is the minister’s personal representative and 
assistant in the life of the church. He will watch 
for chances to relieve the minister of minor prob- 
lems and details. 

He is to be always at the command of the minis- 
ter. No one in the church is to enlist the services 
of the proctor without the consent of the minister. 

This is sufficient to show the type of character 
the plan is producing. It is one with a specialized 
appeal—an appeal which will call forth the best, the 
young men who want to be counted in the real serv- 
ice of the church. Such a plan will unquestionably 
turn men toward the ministry or make them into 
strong laymen who will know the details of parish 
administration. 


THE GENEVA COLLEGE 


This is the plan used by Dr. John Calvin Leonard 
in the J. Addison Henry Memorial Church, Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania. 

_ The young people are organized into a college 


180 Church Administration 


RR A TE 











known as “Geneva College,” with the pastor as 
president, and one of the elders, a young man who 
is interested in young people’s work, as dean. The 
college has also a registrar anda treasurer. A staff 
of instructors is also used. On each Sabbath eve- 
ning at 6:45 P.M. preceding the evening service, 
the entire college membership meets in the college 
assembly hall, or chapel of the church, entering 
through the front door of the church, where the 
students take part in fifteen minutes of lively Chris- 
tian songs, with the orchestra assisting; then each 
class goes to its individual class-room, where in- 
struction is given in the catechism, personal work, 
church history, missions, teachers’ training, and 
Christian Endeavor work, according to rank in 
college. 

The freshman class includes students from seven 
to ten years of age, and receives instruction in cate- 
chism and Bible doctrine. This class has a Delta 
Phi fraternity. The sophomore class includes stu- 
dents from ten to fourteen years, and is taught 
church history and biography of the Church fathers, 
using D1. Latham’s book, The Way of Life. This 
class has a Sigma Xi fraternity. The juniors’ age 
is from fifteen to eighteen years of age, who as 
seniors receive instruction from eighteen years up, 
and their field is teacher’s training and Christian 
Endeavor work. The seniors have a Theta Upsilon 
fraternity. 

This method of work, by using interclass games 
and contests, creates a spirit that encompasses all 
the young people of the community. 


Young People’s Work 18] 





YOUNG MARRIED PEOPLE 


If there is any one time when the church should 
be close to the young people it is when they are con- 
templating marriage, or after they have been mar- 
ried. The Christian home is the bulwark of our 
civilization and the church and minister who can 
keep the right ideals of marriage before the young 
are rendering a tremendous service to the nation. 
There has never been a time when a minister need 
consider, with trembling, each application for mar- 
riage more than at the present day. In my own 
experience as pastor of a church in an industrial 
community, one of the sad features was the many 
marriages entered into which were economic if not 
social failures. A minister will many times find it 
worth while to preach sermons on the opportunities 
of homemaking and the responsibilities of marriage. 
Dr. A. W. Beaven has done this for years. He 
gives me a list of topics he has recently used, which 
may be of interest to other ministers. These ser- 
mons are given at the evening service and the meet- 
ing is opened for questions. He calls them his 
“Fireside Sermons.” 

“Your Friends: Assets or Liabilities.” 

“The Romance of Youth.” 

“The High Cost of Courting.” 

“What Has a Girl the Right to Expect in Her 
Fiance?” 

“Our Chance to Change the Future.” 

“Orange Blossoms or Lemons.” 

“Will She Be ‘Better or Worse’ ?” 

“The Threshold of the Home.” 

“On How Much Can We Marry?” 

“With All My Worldly Goods I Thee Endow.” 


182 Church Administration 





“Tf God Planned Your Home.” 

“The Price of Home Happiness.” 

“The Call of Childhood.” 

As a rule I believe that psychoanalysis is a dan- 
gerous thing for ministers to deal with. But there 
may be an exception when dealing with the marriage 
problem. Ministers need to have a basic idea of 
the sex impulses and the mental, physical and social 
reactions in connection with them. Some ministers 
discuss the matter frankly with couples appearing 
before them for marriage. Others take the less per- 
sonal but probably just as effective way of present- 
ing each couple with a good sensible book dealing 
with the question. Two books have been recently 
recommended for this purpose. The one is Men, 
Women and God by A. Herbert Gray, and the 
other, Sex and Common Sense by Maude Royen. 

It is always a fine thing if there can be a Sunday 
school class for the young married people. The 
church has an obligation to keep them together so- 
cially with those of Christian ideals. The break- 
down of the community plays havoc with estab- 
lished social customs and many a marriage which 
starts out with good prospects is broken because 
old contacts are lost and new ones are of the wrong 
kind. It is well to remember that in the early years 
of married life the problems are peculiar to the 
experience and require a distinct ministration. 


REACHING COLLEGE YOUTH 


The church naturally follows its young people to 
the various colleges and universities. The wise 
pastor will keep a personal contact and see that let- 
ters from him reach these young people. In addi- 


Young People’s Work 183 





tion, to call the attention of the church to the rela- 
tion with the students some churches publish a stu- 
dent register. In this each student is listed, together 
with the institution which he is attending. It gives 
the church information about its young people and 
gives the young people information about one 
another. 

The pastor also should write to a minister in the 
college town giving him information about the stu- 
dent. If there is a student-pastor the information 
should go to him. The student pastor is an estab- 
lished part of modern church work and he should 
have the support of every pastor who is interested 
in his young people. 

The First Baptist Church of Syracuse, which is 
located near Syracuse University, maintains a stu- 
dent church. In this organization the student body 


-—— 


Mem hLOECertity,; thats ccs eens Ae ateRae Meee 
PER PMAUPTIIDEI AOL Wirt fn Seek k cok oe. church 


that without removing h.... 
membership from this home church we affec- 
tionately recommend h.... to the Lake Avenue 
Baptist Church of Rochester to sustain student 
membership with that church; such relationship 
to terminate at the close of h.... attendance at 


h.... school or college in Rochester. 


Pastor. 





elects its own deacons, officers, and has its own com- 
munion service. Another method used by a great 
many churches is the institution of student member- 
ship which makes possible membership, temporarily, 
in a church near the school during the period of 


184. Church Administration 





school work. ‘This does not remove his member- 
ship from his home church and terminates auto- 
matically when he finishes his course in school. The 
filling out of the following form by the pastor of 
the home church constitutes sufficient basis for tak- 
ing a student into this temporary relationship: 

This conserves all the old ties to his home church 
and yet gives him a temporary relationship. 


KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH THE GRADUATES 


The pastor of a large church told me some time 
ago that he always sent a letter of congratulation 
to each person in his congregation graduating from 
the grammar school, high school or any other insti- 
tution of learning. This ran at times into nearly 
a hundred letters a season, but he felt it was worth 
the effort. He tabulated them by schools, made note 
of the commencement dates and had his letters reach 
them the day before. This thoughtfulness is well 
worth while. 


CHAPTER Io 
KEEPING THE MEN INTERESTED 


RELIGION seems to come naturally to women and 
children, but it is difficult to keep the men inter- 
ested. The psychoanalyst will probably tell you 
just why this is so. I cannot. But I do know, as 
do most of the readers, that this is a pretty safe 
rule to go by—“Get the men to church and the wives 
and children will come with them.” Women’s or- 
ganizations in our churches had developed to effi- 
ciency before any serious effort was made to or- 
ganize the men. In explaining to one of my friends 
that I was gathering material for this chapter, he 
offered the explanation that it wasn’t worth while 
because any one who went to the effort to organize 
his men was merely seeking trouble for himself. 

But there is plenty of evidence that other churches 
are utilizing this great power for church service 
and finding it very effective. These churches have 
men in the congregations, have organizations in 
which men may work, and are developing that pe- 
culiar strength and virile morale which we associate 
with the masculine sex. The organized men’s work 
of the churches could mostly be classified under one 
of two heads, viz., organized Bible classes and 
Men’s Clubs, or Brotherhoods as they are called by 
one denomination. 


BIBLE CLASSES 


Bible classes may fall under three distinct heads. 
First there is the small group class which meets to 
185 


186 Church Administration 





seriously study the Bible, with a competent leader, 
but with all feeling free to take part. Unfortu- 
nately this is the type of class we know the least 
about, though it may be the most numerous and the 
writer is of the opinion that it is also the most worth 
while. There is a virtue to the lecture class, of 
course, and when classes number into the hundreds 
the lecture method is the only possible way. But 
there is need of classes giving the free opportunity 
for questions and a chance for each member to ex- 
press himself. 

One of the sad things of our present-day life is 
that the right to address the public is so limited. 
Too many people are listeners. They listen from a 
pew; they listen at the luncheon; they listen at the 
lodge; they listen at a citizens’ meeting. Resolu- 
tions for them to listen to are brought in by spe- 
cialists. The average man needs the opportunity 
to sit down with his neighbor and talk things 
through. This is specially true in regard to the 
Bible. There is no Bible teacher I know of who is 
competent to shape the thoughts of his fellow citi- 
zens. ‘There is a need to-day for the good old-fash- 
ioned Bible class when men sat down as brothers 
and thought and talked things through. 

We know more about the discussion classes or 
forums which attempt to do this on a broader scale. 
They deal not alone with the Bible but with social 
questions of the day. The Pilgrim Press announces 
a number of useful guides for these discussion 
classes. Among the series are Christian Fellow- 
ship Among the Nations, Christian Fellowship in 
Modern Industry, and Christian Fellowship in the 
Family. These discussions are very much worth 
while. The teacher merely acts as leader. The 


Keeping the Men Interested 187 


guide makes suggestions which will lead to discus- 
sion by the members of the group. 

Above these two methods of men’s classes there 
are the lecture classes, numbering into the hundreds 
and many of them of great size. At Long Beach, 
California, Dr. Taubman has such a class with an 
enrollment of 3,000. In a contest between this 
class and one in Kansas City this class succeeded 
in getting out 30,000 for one service, but the Kansas 
City group won the contest by mustering 56,000. 
These figures are so big that the lecturing method 
seems impossible, unless one lecture via radio as 
John Roach Straton is doing in the Calvary Bap- 
tist Church, New York, Sunday afternoons with 
what he calls his Scofield Bible Class. 

Some of these classes are organized for social 
activities. Many of them publish their own papers, 
weekly or monthly. The Northeast Men’s Class 
of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church, 
Kansas City, though not so large in members, has 
employed a full-time secretary to develop the work 
of the class. Ralph V. Gilbert at Independence, 
Iowa, has developed what is called the “Main 
Street Bible Class.” He has shown that it is pos- 
sible for a man in the small town to have a large 
live class—in fact, it is reported to be the largest 
Bible class in Iowa. 

Most of these classes are led by the minister of 
the church. It is a point of contact which he cannot 
afford to ignore and he should consider it an honor 
if he is selected for the work. Others have promi- 
nent laymen for teachers. The Greater New York 
Federation of Churches is promoting a number of 
classes where a series of different speakers is sup- 
plied to the class. 


188 Church Administration 





Whether the minister is the leader or not he 
should help to promote the work, giving what direc- 
tion he can. Some churches have had the sad ex- 
perience of seeing the class divorced from the 
church. Ministers have felt that the interest the 
men put into the class should go into the church. 
It is not pleasant to have a huge Bible class in the 
church at 9.30 and then see them disappear at the 
church hour. The minister should guard against 
this by placing the class in its proper relationship. 
The tail must not wag the dog. 

The minister must also help in selecting the right 
teacher. There is a very serious danger involved 
in such a class unless the leadership is right. There 
are religious cranks who have the faculty of hold- 
ing great crowds, yet whose teaching is perversive, 
and who will not respect the authority of the church 
nor the person of the minister. Certainly, any man 
who aspires to class leadership should convince the 
proper authorities that he has the moral, intellectual 
and spiritual qualifications. 

In addition to these dangers, which are very real, 
in the large class there is always the danger of 
placing undue emphasis upon numbers. When the 
crowd runs riot about numbers it is difficult to give 
proper place to moral and spiritual qualities. The 
class is apt to forget its social obligations. A thou- 
sand people may mean more than right principles or 
ethical procedure. Yet these dangers ought not to 
cloud the virtue of this work. I will admit thatiag 
a minister, I would prize such a class, a class of 
hundreds, enthusiastic and joyous. But as a lay- 
man, for at present I am in detached service, [ 
would pass any such class for a smaller group 


Keeping the Men Interested 189 





where, in a friendly and intelligent Way, we could 
discuss the Bible lessons. 


BROTHERHOODS AND CLUBS 


The men’s club has a broader program than the 
class. That program may include all that the class 
does but it includes also other things which are out- 
side the régime of the Bible class. Ordinarily the 
club is an attempt to bring all of the men of the 
congregation together for fellowship, study and 
service. In the by-laws of an active club we find 
the following active committees: 

Membership 

Religious Work 

Reception 

Program 

Athletic. 

Most of these would be self-explanatory. In this 
instance the religious committee acts as the point of 
contact between the official board of the church and 
the men’s club; it has in charge the Sunday Bible 
class which is conducted as a part of the club’s 
work; it promotes the attendance at the services of 
worship and the midweek meeting; it solicits the 
club members in connection with various church ac- 
tivities and urges upon any club members who are 
not church members the advisability of joining the 
church. In addition to these duties two meetings of 
each year are given the religious committee for a 
distinctly religious program for its work. 

In this program it will be noted that the religious 
work of the men was well taken care of and fitted 
into a large program. All of the men’s activities, 


190 Church Administration 





athletic, social and civic, headed up in the parent 
organization which sought, but did not realize its 
aim, to have every man in the congregation enrolled 
in the club. Good as this method is, it is inferior 
to a complete organization on a departmental sys- 
tem such as is mentioned in the first chapter of this 
book. . 

There are still many clubs connected with 
churches which make no provision for the religious 
tie-up. They stand as purely social organizations. 
From one of these clubs I am taking the list of com- 
mittees. ‘This would seem to be a fairly complete 
program with the exception of the religious side. 
In organizing new clubs it would be well to avoid 
this error. There is certainly as much need for the 
men of the church to have a contact with the de- 
nominational and religious agencies as with national 
legislation and international affairs. 


ARTICLE IV 


The following standing committees shall be appointed by 
the President: 
Executive 
Finance 
Membership 
Program 
Entertainment 
Civic 
State and City Legislation 
National Legislation 
International Affairs 
Publicity 


DOU NIL eh 


ke 


When I was pastor of the Walden Presbyterian 
Church, Buffalo, New York, we were forced by 
circumstances to face a reorganization of our club. 
It had been organized on a very simple plan of 


Keeping the Men Interested 19] 
electing a president, vice-president, secretary and 
treasurer. ‘There were several standing commit- 
tees and all of the business of the club was con- 
ducted from the floor. This became a very awk- 
ward system as the club developed and time which 
should have been given to constructive and educa- 
tional work was taken with discussion of minor sub- 
jects. We felt that some plan should be promoted 
which would give the club more stability and at the 
same time relieve the pressure on the meeting time. 

The result was that the plan of the Board of 
Governors was adopted. By this plan a board of 
nine men was elected. They in turn elected the 
offcers from their number. They were arranged 
in three classes of three men each. All committees 
reported to the Board and in turn they read the 
report with a recommendation. In this way mat- 
ters were largely smoothed out in the smaller body 
so that only the most vital matters went to the floor 
of the club. An additional feature of this plan is 
that it is not possible for all of the officers to retire 
at the same time. If the club desired to incorporate 
this Board would satisfy the legal requirements for 
trustees. 


PROGRAMS FOR MEN’S MEETINGS 


We have discussed the leaders for the Sunday 
Bible class. Now we will consider the programs 
for the social and cultural meetings of the club. 
There will be, of course, various speakers. A good 
committee will search the town for interesting 
things for the meeting. Public officials will present 
their views, authorities in various lines will discuss 
interesting things. It is surprising the number of 
interesting things which it is possible to introduce. 


192 Church Administration 





* PROGRAM FOR 1926 


JANUARY 29 
Community Night 


A discussion of the church 
functioning in the community. 

Short addresses by the Chief of 
Police, County Attorney, Delin- 
quency Officer, etc. 


FEBRUARY 26 
Patriotic Night 


Address on Washington and 
Lincoln. 
Patriotic music. 


Marci 26 
Fellowship Night 


A discussion of the value of 
fellowship on the church. 

Setting up the organization for 
the Annual Every Member Fel- 
lowship Canvass. 


APRIL 30 
Congregational Night 


An address by a representa- 
tive Congregationalist on “Our 
Church.” 


May 28 
Ladies’ Night 
The ladies present as guests of 


the men. The ladies to provide 
the program. 


JUNE 25 


Picnic 


SEPTEMBER 24 
Reassembling Night 
Vacation experiences. 


OcTOBER 29 
Annual Meeting 


Executive Committee’s report 
for the past year. 

Outline of activities for coming 
year. 

Discussion. 


NOVEMBER 26 
Boys’ Night 
The boys present as guests of 


the men at a Father and Son 
Banquet. 


DECEMBER 24 
Memory Night 


Christmas and New Year stories 
and memories. 


* Annual Program, Brotherhood, First Congregational Church, Waterloo, Iowa. 


Keeping the Men Interested 193 

A stereopticon and moving-picture machine will 
always help out in these things. A tour of local 
industries is possible by this means. Many of the 
large industries are glad to furnish slides or films 
free of cost. Some will send speakers to explain 
the pictures. In the busy life of to-day too many 
of us are ignorant of the way the factories of the 
city are being operated. When the address for the 
evening is heavy and serious a reel of comics will 
help a great deal to cheer things up. The program 
committee should see that the various welfare 
agencies in the city have a chance to discuss their 
work before the club. It is a much more suitable 
time than at the services of worship. Call upon 
the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Associated Chari- 
ties, Social Settlements. They all have an inter- 
esting story to tell. Let them tell it. 

Then there are many ways of getting men to 
amuse themselves. For happy meetings the ones 
where the men participate are the best. There are 
many good game books available. The ones by 
Miss Edna Geister are full of suggestions. But 
best of all are the games which the men originate 
and carry through themselves. 


Mock Tnal 


A mock trial is always interesting. One can be 
arranged over a very simple matter. In one of our 
meetings we started one over the disappearance of 
the dish towels. On the spur of the moment one of 
the men was good-naturedly accused of stealing the 
dish towels on the ground that he wanted an excuse 
to avoid washing dishes. I suggested that he be 
tried for the charge. The idea took at once. Law- 


194 Church Administration 


yers were selected. The next meeting was turned 
into a court and the thing was fought out. We 
repeated that trial several times. It was finally 
published in a booklet by a dramatic producer under 
the title, The Great Dish Towel Mystery. It was 
a good bit of fun but I think that the best thing 
about it was getting the men interested in pro- 
ducing it. 


Those Were the Good Old Days 


One night when we were disappointed in the 
program it was necessary to improvise one. The 
chairman of the committee asked me to fill the time. 
Instead I announced a free-for-all debate on the 
question, “Resolved, That the people of the past 
generation were happier than the people of to-day.” 

I had been listening to one of our men a few 
days before tell of the good times they used to 
have and I called on him to repeat it. He told about 
the old sleigh rides and parties with the good neigh- 
borly fun when people were not too busy to be 
friendly. Some of the young men tried to refute 
his story by telling of the automobiles and comforts 
of to-day. A mechanic opened up his heart and told 
how modern industry is taking the joy out of honest 
work. The debate kept up until midnight and then 
some debated the matter on the way home. Before 
the meeting adjourned we asked for a vote on the 
question. The decision reached was that while peo- 
ple of to-day have more to make them happy they 
are not as happy as folk of a generation ago. It 
was a very satisfying evening altogether. 

These are samples of what I mean by improvised 
programs which are the naost satisfactory. 


Keeping the Men Interested 195 
0 ee eee 
Other Programs for Men 


James Elmer Russell lets his men’s club conduct 
the Sunday evening service one Sunday each 
month. This gives them a definite responsibility 
in the services of worship. Richard Braustein sug- 
gests a week of laymen speakers under a title The 
Kingdom of God in Action. Such a program as 
used by him included the following: 

Monday: The Kingdom of God and the Public 
School. 
Speaker: Principal of the High School. 
Tuesday: The Kingdom of God and the Medi- 
cal Profession. 
Speaker: Local doctor or district nurse. 
Wednesday: The Kingdom of God and Our 


Industries. 
Speaker: President of the Chamber of 
Commerce. 
Thursday: The Kingdom of God and Amuse- 
ments. 


Speaker: The Y. M. C. A. secretary. 
Friday: The Kingdom of God and Music. 
Speaker: Organist or music teacher. 
Saturday: No services but a story of the week 
and an advertisement of the Sunday serv- 
ices should appear in the local papers. 
Sunday: A. M., Pastor of the church. 
P. M., A local politician. 


USING THE BOWLING ALLEYS FOR PRAYER 
MEETING 


It is possible to use any of the recreational facili- 
ties of the church to help get the men out for the 
midweek service. We made it a rule in our church 


196 Church Administration 





that the alleys should be closed on Wednesday eve- 
nings except as the pastor might care to have them 
used. Acting on this, I took them for the benefit of 
the prayer meeting. Taking a few men into the 
plan we outlined a bowling club which would fit 
into the Wednesday evening program. It happened 
that the lectures for a half year were to be on the 
book of Revelation so we named the bowling club 
the “Apocalyptic Bowling Club.” This club met 
every Wednesday night at 8 o’clock. From eight 
to nine it listened to a lecture on the Apocalypse. 
From 9 to II it bowled. And some were warm 
and some were cold and some were lukewarm but 
it held the group of men for the season and they 
really got so that they enjoyed the services. At 
the close of the season prizes were given for the 
best and lowest scores, the prizes being very appro- 
priately a volume of sermons on Revelation. 


THE CHORUS WHICH COULD NOT SING 


The Presbyterian Church at Alden, New York, 
could not have a club because it had tried one and 
it fell flat. Yet there were men who should be 
reached and held for the church. Just what scheme 
would do the trick, was the problem. Some one 
thought of a men’s chorus. At once one of the 
women remarked, “It wouldn’t interest my hus- 
band. Hecan’t carry a tune.” 

Her remark was the thing which made it possible. 
The first requirement, the organizer said, was that 
a man have a certificate from his wife that he could 
not sing. The humor of the thing made its appeal. 
Soon the chorus was going in full force. Most of, 
the wives were right, but it didn’t stop the chorus. 


Keeping the Men Interested 197 





It sang for social occasions, sang Sunday evenings, 
went to neighboring churches to sing and even pro- 
moted parties that it might sing. Though the or- 
ganization was some years ago my information is 
that it is still singing, keeping some thirty or forty 
men interested in the church. 


THE FORGOTTEN “TRAVELING” MAN 


What about the man who happens to be in town 
over Sunday? Has the church a message for him? 
He is very apt to be a neglected factor in the pro- 
gram of most churches. But here and there are 
churches which are reaching him with their gospel 
message. 

One of the most common and least effective ways 
is to have a poster or card stuck up in the hotel. 
Unless these are framed they are apt to be swept 
away the first week. After they are framed they 
may never be changed. 

Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, St. Johns- 
bury, Vermont, has placed in a local hotel a very 
attractive water-color—a beautiful and expensive 
advertisement but giving a dignified announcement 
worthy of the church. The central feature of the 
announcement is the front window of the church 
and it bears the inscription in legible Old English: 
“To the Stranger within our gates: IN HIS NAME 
Grace Church Extends Her Hospitality.” 

Another method of hotel publicity is by the dis- 
tribution of the Sunday calendars. These may be 
left on the writing tables, or some landlords permit 
them to be placed on the breakfast tables or to be 
pushed under the doors. The main thing is that 
the announcement reach the guests on Sunday morn- 


198 Church Administration 





ing. Where a calendar is used it might be well to 
attach a sticker showing the way to the church. 
This will help many who may be diffident in start- 
ing out for the service. 

Perhaps the most effective way of all is to senda 
personal invitation to each guest. The names may 
be secured from the register and a bellboy hired to 
place them in each room. Here is the letter used 
by the Grace Church, St. Johnsbury, Vermont, 
which is always signed personally by the pastor. 
You will notice on this letter his liberality in also 
announcing the services of neighboring churches. 
























GRACE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
The Minister’s Study 





St. Johnsbury, Vermont 


TO YOU— 

“A SENSIS SE Eee OUR GATES” 

GRACE CHURCH EXTENDS TO YOU THE HOSPITALITY OF HER 
MORNING SERVICE OF WORSHIP AT ELEVEN AND THE VESPER 
SERVICE AT SEVEN. THE CHURCH SCHOOL IS AT TEN O’CLOCK. 

SHOULD YOUR PREFERENCE BE FOR A CHURCH OF ANOTHER 
DENOMINATION, WE APPEND THEIR HOURS OF WORSHIP FOR YOUR 
CONVENIENCE. 

WE INVITE YOU TO VIEW OUR BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL WINDOW, 
“THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE SHEPHERDS,” WHICH IS ILLUMINATED 
SEVERAL HOURS EACH EVENING. IT MAY BE SEEN FROM THE 
NORTH SIDE OF THE ST. JOHNSBURY HOUSE. 

THAT YOUR STAY IN ST. JOHNSBURY MAY BE PLEASANT AND 
MEMORABLE IS THE UNANIMOUS WISH OF THE COMMUNITY, WE 
ARE SURE, 





MOST CORDIALLY YOURS, 









CHRISTIAN area Ra SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL 
10.45 a 11.00 a.m. 
CHURCH OF MESSIAH Lee 2 with pee: Church 

uring Augus 
st eb span a PY ST. ALOYSIUS (R. C.) 
en oy oe 0 00 a.m. 
No Service During August 
NORTH CONGREGATIONAL oF ANDRES aa 
10.30 a.m. UNION BAPTIST 
NOTRE DAME (R. C.) 11.00 a.m. August 


7.30, 9.00, 10.30 a.m. 10.30 and 7.00 p.m. Sept. 


Part IV: Publicity 





CHAPTER 11 
EFFECTIVE PUBLICITY PLANS 


In this chapter we will discuss the general ques- 
tion of church publicity and comment on various 
plans which have not been touched in other parts 
of the book. We can take the matter of some kind 
of publicity for granted but it is well to consider 
the whole question in a broad way. There is the 
publicity of the established business house, and 
there is the publicity of the actress who in hopes of 
attracting attention plans numerous dramatic esca- 
pades which are brought to the attention of the 
papers. Between these two extremes there are 
many kinds of publicity. Some ministers will se- 
lect the unusual way of attracting attention. Others 
with well-established churches will shun these meth- 
ods and, while using entirely different methods, 
plan carefully to keep their churches constantly ap- 
pealing. . 

A great cathedral needs no flood lighting or re- 
volving cross to preach its sermon. But a Stidger 
in the darkened corner of San Francisco had to find 
some way to attract immediate attention, to sell his 
church to the city. Christian Reisner did not start 
out as an advocate of sensational advertising. But 
confronting empty pews Sunday nights in his 
church in Denver he decided that he was going to 
fill them some way—any way—as long as the 
method was legitimate. He did fill them and has 
from that day been a leader among those who have 
fought for the church in discouraging situations, 

: 201 . 


202 Church Administration 


In his new Broadway Temple he is building one of 
the greatest publicity agencies in the church. It is 
going to tower over the city as a living testimony 
that Christ lives. I like to mention these extremes 
because there is so much misunderstanding concern- 
ing them. Many ministers who are accused of being 
publicity seekers are seeking publicity that through 
it they may build the Kingdom of God. 


NEWSPAPER SPACE 


The first method which comes to mind is that of 
newspaper publicity. To many men that means 
paid space in the Saturday editions. A great deal 
can be said for the paid space. Most churches use 
so little that it amounts merely to an announcement. 
But the collective effect of many announcements is 
very much worth while. It has led many papers 
to seek to make an attractive church section in the 
Saturday night edition. The church section has 
been a growth of the past few years and is a healthy 
indication that the newspapers are recognizing the 
value of religious news. 

Probably any church can profit by a judicious 
use of paid advertising space. But it is my opinion 
that the advertising of the future will be of the co- 
operative kind in which all churches will profit by 
the spirit which is created. At one time it looked 
as though this cooperation could be secured only 
through some great movement such as the Inter- 
Church World Movement. But a wise Providence 
has directed otherwise. So we find the local news- 
papers gathering all of the church advertisements 
on one or two pages giving a cumulative effect 
which is enormous. It is not so much just what is 


Effective Publicity Plans 203 





going on in one church as the indication that many 
churches are on the job. 

It is now the custom of the larger papers to have 
a “Church Editor.” He has charge of this section 
and naturally likes to have an attractive sheet. He 
is after news as well as advertising. It will pay 
the minister to make his acquaintance. He wants 
to know what interesting things are taking place 
and has a trained ‘‘news nose” which is directed 
toward the church. Some of the church sections 
are very impressive. The Brooklyn Times not alone 
gives church news but contains reviews of religious 
books. Many ministers might find a point of con- 
tact with the local paper by offering to review re- 
ligious books for the church page. 

The Church Division of the Associated Adver- 
tising Clubs of the World is on the job to help the 
papers with this publicity. This section is made up 
largely of Christian advertising men who feel that 
they may have something worth while to give the 
church. Part of their program at present is to 
supply the newspapers of the country with suitable 
copy for display each Saturday night throughout 
the year. These have been designed for a purpose, 
the layout is good and many papers are using them. 
Ministers might call the attention of the local pa- 
pers to them and urge them to obtain this valuable 
service which can be secured at a very small cost. 
Or, in case the paper is not willing to pay, the 
present policy is for the association to stand the 
expense. This is very important as it encourages 
the building of suitable, attractive publicity in the 
local newspapers. 


204 Church Administration 





WHAT IS NEWS? 


So much has been said on this point that at best 
one could merely repeat. But let an illustration 
suffice to show how news may be found in religious 
interests. 

One of the finest pieces of publicity in the book 
world in recent years was 1n connection with Pro- 
fessor Moffatt’s translation of the Old Testament. 
Hundreds of daily papers gave columns to it, edi- 
torials were written concerning it, and Sunday 
editions carried the story in their illustrated supple- 
ments. The secret of it all was found in a mind 
which could detect news value in a Bible trans- 
lation, on its face a most prosy subject. 

The newspaper mind was directed by the pub- 
licity agent to certain strange features. The gar- 
den of Eden was called a “park.” Noah’s ark 
became a “barge.” Jerusalem was termed ‘‘Da- 
vidsburg.”’ 

Now, Professor Moffatt’s translation is a 
scholarly and accurate one. The publishers might 
have produced reviews from eminent scholars testi- 
fying as to its virtues. Such testimonies, however, 
would not have the news value as the incidents we 
have noted. Even the readers of this book, probably 
most of them ministers, would not have reacted to 
the news story so quickly had it been based on this 
supposition. But each of us, when we read about 
these strange innovations, listened and took notice. 

Many things in connection with the church have 
news value. Sometimes the sermon has when it 
deals with local or political situations. But the 
average sermon has not more news value than the 
instructor’s lecture in the university. Sermons are 


Effective Publicity Plans 205 





a specialized sort of production and belong in the 
church or in homiletic magazines. If you think 
that your sermon has news value and you want it 
to appear in the Monday papers cut it down to eight 
hundred or a thousand words and send it to the 
editor so that he will have it on Saturday morning. 
Be careful so to write it that there will be a punch 
in the first paragraph. If the first one does not 
grip him he probably will not read further. In that 
first paragraph he must be informed just what the 
whole thing is about. 

But there are many things besides the sermon 
which will have news value. Does the men’s club 
go on record as favoring organized labor? That 
is news, especially if there are men in the club whose 
opinions have public value. The fact that a church 
received a hundred new members in one day is news 
but the average editor will prefer one good human 
interest story. A friend of mine some years ago 
took in a large class at one service. He was highly 
wrought up with the achievement. But a news- 
paper man found a story there greater than the 
other. He found in the class an aged man and 
woman who, though never married, had been living 
together for forty years. They knelt at the altar 
together with a grandchild, a girl in her teens. He 
sensed a story which would be a feature in any 
paper of an aged couple who had defied convention 
all their lives yielding through the leadership of the 
child. I am not saying that these things ought to 
be published. I am merely pointing out what has 
news value and what has not. 

A slant at the kind of thing a newspaper man 
thinks interesting may be seen from these sentences 
taken from a letter sent by the religious editor of 


206 Church Administration 








the Providence (Rhode Island) Bulletin and Eve- 
ning Journal: 

“We will appreciate your assistance in fully cov- 
ering the activities of your society. Address briefs, 
special observances, contemplated and completed 
building programs, financial drives, pageants and 
other events of pictorial interest, distinguished 
visitors and their message, personal notes of reli- 
gious import, gems of thought and literary passages 
unearthed during study—are typical of the material 
we can use. 

“We have found the regular weekly or monthly 
church calendar suggestive and informing. If we 
are not on your mailing list, will you see that we 
are placed there ?”’ 


SMALL-TOWN PAPERS 


The approach to the small-town papers is nat- 
urally different from that to the city papers. These 
are usually weekly affairs. Instead of being 
crowded for space, many times the editor is forced 
to use “boiler plate” to keep up the issue and his 
reputation. There is not a surplus of editorial help. 
If a minister is clever with his pen he will be wel- 
comed asa contributor. He will be expected to use 
good sense, not try to tie the paper up to any de- 
nominational propaganda. Usually it means that 
he has the courtesy to keep from using the good 
graces of the paper and then sending out of town 
for his printing. 

There are many ways in which the minister can 
cooperate with the local paper. He can put life and 
pep into his local announcements. Make your 
church column the most interesting one in the paper. 


Effective Publicity Plans 207 








WHENCE COMMUNITY SPIRIT? 


One of a Series of Community Articles Written 
by William H. Leach 


What makes this mysterious quality which men call Com- 
munity Spirit? 

“The size of the place,” insists the guy who, if he lives 
in a place of a few hundred, calls it a town; if it has a few 
thousand, he calls it a city. 

“The business it does,” answers the man who appreciates 
the music of the cash register. 

“Its schools,” says the individual who is long on graduation 
and short on education. 

“The Churches,” adds the pious individual. 

“The clubs, by all means,” says the sweet little thing that 
counts that day lost without a new step learned. 

“Its public improvements,” offers the village official seek- 
ing commendation for his hard and well done task. 

But about then a man happens along who has the human- 
itarian view all these others lack. 

“The answer is simple. The spirit of the people makes the 
spirit of the community.” 

We, the people, are the town. Is our town sluggish and 
provincial? Feel our own pulse. Do we need a civil stimu- 
lant? Administer it to ourselves. Are we divided into a 
hundred cliques with no community ideal to lead us? Pray 
that we may have one for ourselves. To quote from the poet: 

“Tt’s a knock at yourself, when you knock your town, 
It isn’t your town. It’s you.” 


(Not alone the village editor but the village officials appreciated 
this service.) 


Use the space to say something exceptionally good. 
Announce the sermons in a new way. Use the 
questionnaire method. Ask questions about the 
subject, which are going to be answered in the ser- 
mon. Run in some lively bit of poetry. Put some 
humor in. I headed my column at Alden, New 
York, a village of one thousand people, with lines 
such as, “Come early and get a back seat.” This 
kind of language took and people read the column. 


208 Church Administration 





This kind of publicity cost nothing except the labor 
and thought but it made the church column attrac- 
tive. Another thing a minister can do is to write 
copy which will be a help to his own and other 
churches. Not all ministers have the journalistic 
gift. A good little article to head the column will 
be a help to all. 

In Cloquet, Wisconsin, Presbyterian, Lutheran 
and Episcopalian ministers took turns in writing 
editorials to go over the newspaper display cards 
of all denominations. Here are some of the results 
of their efforts. They’ may be. suggestive to 
preachers in other towns. 


COME AND SEE! 


Be fair. 

Get the facts. 

Don’t condemn unheard. 

Refuse prejudiced testimony. 

Come and see for yourself. 

The church courts investigation of her principles 
and work. 

Unlike all other institutions she has room for every- 
body, men, women and children. 

No matter what your color, your clothes, your in- 
come, your education, your morals, the church wants 
to see you at her services. She welcomes you, not for 
what she can get from you, but for what she can give 
to you. 

Underneath her forms, behind all her attractions 
of music, oratory, society, charity, the church offers 
what all men need—sympathy, joy, victory. 

To remain ignorant of the church’s message or ab- 
sent from her worship is to cheat yourself of courage 
for duty; strength for burdens; escape in temptation; 
light in perplexity ; comfort in sorrow; peace in death. 

The church invites, urges, challenges you to test her 
welcome, her worship, her work. 

Come and See. 


Effective Publicity Plans 209 
CE aE a arb Va et zt ht RR abe id 


CLOQUET DOCTORS SAY 





if folks would obey the moral laws and heed the teach- 
ings of the Christian religion, they would have finer 
complexions, better digestion, steadier nerves, happier 
old age and longer life. 

Evidently godliness is profitable for this life as well 
as for that which is to come, and going to church is 
great gain. 

Cloquet Churches remind the community that Divine 
Worship is both a public concern and a personal 
responsibility. 


FEELING BLUE? 


Stranger? Sick? Poor? Out of work? Trouble 
with your neighbors? Disappointed in your friends? 
Uneasy about your family? Victimized by your own 
disposition? Enslaved by evil habits? Discouraged 
because of a bad conscience? Without hope and with- 
out God? 

Yet Cloquet churches are filled with men and 
women who have a heart to help. And Cloquet pulpits 
declare a message of deliverance and joy. 

Why not meet the church halfway? Why not give 
God a chance at your load? Then, instead of feeling 
blue, you'll see it true. 

Flope to meet you at church Sunday. 


THE QUOTATION SERMON 


John Evans, pastor of the Boonville, New York, 
Presbyterian Church, went away on his vacation a 
year ago and in the place of pulpit supplies he left 
quotation sermons to be published in the village 
paper. A quotation sermon consists of a series of 
words from famous individuals on a chosen sub- 
ject. Among the topics he used were: Anger; Ad- 
versity; the Lamb of God; What is Man? and 
Jealousy. Some were based upon a series of short 


210 Church Administration 








—_—— 


quotations and gave the appearance of access to an 
encyclopedia of illustrations. The sermon on the 
Lamb of God was taken entirely from Ben Hur. 
This seemed a very useful method of publicity to 
one on the outside. I read them with interest. I 
think that the idea might grow. The minister 
could keep his eyes open to striking passages in 
the books he is reading and copy these and use them 
in his column. 


SOME “DON’TS” FOR THE ADVERTISING PREACHER 


These “don’ts” compiled for village and rural 
pastors by Rev. Harry A. Cochran, Cisco, Illinois, 
are so good that they are worth passing on. 

The first one is this—Don’t fail to appreciate the 
value of the editor’s time and the value of the space 
in his newspaper. If the preacher would keep the 
good will of the newspaper force, let him regard the 
time in the office as being as sacred as his own and 
govern himself accordingly. When given free use 
of the columns of the paper for notes, etc., let him 
remember not to write a book, and the whole office 
force will rise up and call him blessed. Never fear, 
if you have something that is of sufficient impor- 
tance to take a column, the editor will see that it 
gets a column if you give him the facts. 

Secondly—Don’t preach or ride a hobby in your 
notes. Don’t engage in doctrinal bickerings and 
quarrels. The editor has his own beliefs. The 
people who read his paper have theirs. It is bad 
taste for you to take advantage of his offer of free 
space to relieve yourself of some surplus doctrinal 
narrowness. ‘Those things that are worth while 
will always be welcome. 


Effective Publicity Plans 211 


Third—Don’t wait until the afternoon of press 
day to get your copy to the office and don’t put the 
copy up in such shape that it can not be read. Get 
your copy in early and typewrite it if possible. I 
have known some ministers who thought that an 
hour before press time was soon enough to get 
their copy to the office and I remember distinctly 
one who always used glazed paper and wrote his 
copy with an indelible pencil and in a handwriting 
far from legible. 

Fourth—Don’t ask to be given better rates for 
your display advertising than the regular contract 
advertising of the regular business firms. Nothing 
kills a church quicker than the begging attitude. 
The church is the greatest institution on earth. 
Why should it beg when it comes to business? 

Fitth—Don’t start a parish paper and try to get 
ads enough to pay for it and make a little money 
on the side. Advertising is one of the means of 
revenue by which the editor and the newspaper 
force make their living. The church is not in that 
business. The parish paper idea is fine but it should 
be financed in some other way. 

Sixth—Don’t ask the newspaper for favors and 
then send out of town to have all of your pay work 
done. I am making no brief against mail-order 
printing houses. But all country newspaper offices 
do job work also and it is not fair for you to expect 
the publisher to give you free publicity and then 
send to a mail-order house for your envelopes, 
cards, letterheads, etc. The publisher will not ob- 
ject to your use of duplicators for circular letter 
work. He will probably understand that if such 
work is not done in that way it will not be done 
at all. 


? 


2A Church Administration 

Seventh—Don’t try to tell the printer the size 
and style type to use in setting your ad. If he is 
a printer tell him the general idea you want. He 
will be better able to produce the desired effect than 
will you. Another thing—don’t try to use printer’s 
terms unless you know what you are talking about. 

Eighth—Don’t ask for freak ads and freak ways 
of displaying ads. The editor will probably comply 
with your desire but you will get the name of being 
queer and finicky. 

I know that some will think the above hints are 
unneeded and that they are after all little things too 
trivial to be given any attention. But the pastor 
who wants to get the most out of his efforts at 
publicity will do well to think these things over. A 
word to the wise is sufficient. 


METHODS OF NEWSPAPER SPACE 


There are many ideas about the best way to get 
big results from newspaper space. Some will prefer 
the church pages with a suitable story. That 
reaches the churchgoing people and those transients 
who desire to goto church. Dr. Stidger advertised, 
while in Detroit, with those papers which reached 
the great unchurched masses. Rev. David-Rees 
Jones of the First Presbyterian Church, Chelsea, 
Oklahoma, places his advertising in the want col- 
umns of the local dailies. In Elizabeth, New Jer- 
sey, a special advertising campaign in behalf of the 
churches placed the displays on the sporting page, 
the amusement page, the woman’s page, the want 
ad page and even on the comic page. Those in 
charge estimated that the results justified the ex- 
periment. 


Effective Publicity Plans 213 
i SE EE A A SA A A PEO | 
Some ministers figure that a page display on 
Saturday followed by a news item on Monday gives 
the greatest effect. James Elmer Russell at Bing- 
hamton, New York, has preferred a news story on 
Friday followed by the display ad on Saturday. 
There are some newspapers which solicit church 
advertising on the basis that a news story will also 
be given. This, however, is not considered very 
ethical among newspapers where news value is sup- 
posed to stand on its own merits. 


NEWSPAPER STORIES IN A BUILDING PROGRAM 


The Memorial United Presbyterian Church of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was able to capitalize 
various features of its building program so that it 
secured newspaper stories in prominent positions. 
Its history in this respect is a very interesting study 
to get a news slant on church affairs. 

The new church was to be located at Beverly 
Hills, a high-class residential development with 
building carefully restricted. In fact, one of the 
restrictions stated that “no building other than a 
detached dwelling house” should ever be erected. 
Now the fact that a church should move to a resi- 
dential development is not news—or at the most it 
is good for but a few lines—but the fact that a 
church is prohibited from a community is news. It 
was necessary to open the entire controversy over 
again and secure the consent of property owners. 
Incidentally every property owner received a nice 
letter thanking him for the courtesy. 

Then, according to the rules of the local Federa- 
tion, the matter had to be passed on by the comity 
committee and also by a group of local interested 


214 Church Administration 





pastors. It was news that the Federation was in- 
terested in this matter and the story of the action 
got a first-page position. 

While the church was being built, the pastor, 
Charles Opie Smith, was invited with his choir to 
conduct services from a local radio station. Here 
was an interesting news story. The people have no 
church to go to but they can hear their minister 
by merely tuning in.. These several items show 
how news may be found which will interest the 
papers. 

But there are many ways of publicity outside of 
the newspaper. Sometimes I think that the great- 
est source of publicity available has never been de- 
veloped sufficiently by the church. I refer to the 
publicity of the spoken word. I know of no one 
who has made a social study of gossip. But we all 
know that there is a direct way of communication 
in every community whereby an unwholesome 
event reaches every one before the papers are 
issued. If this is possible, why can’t the same 
forces be harnessed for the good of the church? If 
the church could get its men and women to pass on 
information as quickly as they now pass on things 
which might better be left unsaid, we would have 
no difficulties about publicity. 


OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 


The bulletin board is in quite common use to-day 
in one form or another. There are several firms 
making changeable-letter bulletin boards which will 
carry the announcements of the church in a very 
dignified and effective way. These, placed before 
the church or in some other striking location, can 


Effective Publicity Plans © 215 
constantly carry a message to hundreds at a very 
small cost. They may be brilliantly lighted and 
thus carry their message on through the night 
hours. 

The “Wayside Pulpit” * promoted by the Rev. 
Henry Hallam Saunderson is worth mentioning. 
It consists of a bulletin board carrying sheets 
32x 44 inches. The plan provides a service which 
includes a new text for each week. These texts are 
printed and have an advantage over the changeable 
letter type. 

Here and there are churches which have used 
the big billboard system. Among such churches 
are Grace Church in New York, which used such 
display under the direction of Christian Reisner, 
and Howard Presbyterian Church, San Francisco. 
My idea of this is that it is more suitable for co- 
operative advertising. Many times plans can be 
made with the leasing agency to use the church 
display, without cost, at any periods when the 
boards would otherwise be vacant. 

Rev. Paul Herman Guhse of Oxford Presby- 
terian Church, Philadelphia, thus described his pro- 
gram of Outdoor Advertising at the convention of 
the Associated Advertising Clubs at Atlantic City 
in 1923. It is a good survey of the outdoor adver- 
tising possibilities of a church. 

“We are a semi-downtown church, on the main 
thoroughfare of the city, surrounded by business, 
apartments, and rapidly diminishing private resi- 
dences. On Sundays the crowds surge past our 
church, much as they do on Fifth Avenue in New 
York City. We have six distinct ways of reaching 
our constituency in the field of outdoor advertising. 

1 Distributed by The Beacon Press, Boston, Mass. 


216 Church Administration 
Sener} 

“1. Two large American flags are given to the 
breezes before the church each Sunday. They 
hang, suspended over the sidewalk, by two long 
flag staffs, from the lower tower windows. They 
are conspicuous, since flags are mostly an orna- 
mentation of holidays, as is also the spirit of pa- 
triotism mostly a spasmodic flash of enthusiasm. 
We combine religion and patriotism. The flag and 
the church make their appeal together. 

“2. Some three to four hundred bulletins of our 
Sunday services are distributed each Saturday, to 
some sixty public places of business, and put in 
conspicuous places. Frequently the Boy Scouts 
take out some five to ten thousand cards and dis- 
tribute them throughout the community. On Sun- 
days before the services they are stationed at 
corners, several squares on either side of the church, 
to hand people the cards. 

“3. We have a cornetist in the tower for a half 
hour before each service. He plays the familiar 
hymns of the church. We have had new members 
who said that they had been brought into the 
church by this means, The traffic is halted for two 
minutes, alternately giving the automobilists, as 
well as the crowds on foot, a real touch of things 
sacred. Many have thus involuntarily found their 
way into the house of worship. 

“4. We have a beautiful glass vestibule which is 
brilliantly lighted at night. It is the base of our 
electric sign. In this vestibule we display attractive 
posters mounted upon an easel. These posters an- 
nounce the next Sunday’s topics early in the week. 
The feature of these cards is not first and foremost 
the topics. They, in themselves, make their appeal 
in due time, But here is something attractive for 


Effective Publicity Plans 217 
eee 
the eye; it cannot fail to create an interest; it arouses 
the curiosity of almost every pedestrian. It is 
wisely located, offers variety, commands respect be- 
cause of its good workmanship, brings a message, 
and is truthful. Here are the requirements of good 
advertising. 

“5. On either side of our vestibule we have 
boxes, in keeping with the architectural features. 
Into these we place the Sunday Bulletin on Friday, 
Saturday and Sunday. As people pause to read the 
mounted poster within, they help themselves to a 
bulletin. 

“6. Our biggest advertising feature is our elec- 
tric sign, of which, to be sure, we are justly proud,— 
the largest and most costly electric display feature 
before any Christian church in the world. Its con- 
struction is of copper and plate glass, and it rises 
to a height of forty feet above the pavement. The 
base is the vestibule itself, some sixteen feet wide 
and six feet deep, with a terrazza floor, having a 
beautiful mosaic border and the word ‘wELCoME’ 
worked into the center, also in mosaic. 

“Across the top, and above the doors, which are 
thrown entirely open, there is the electric bulletin 
board, with four lines of changeable copper letters. 
This is changed daily. We call them our wAysIDE 
PULPIT. A message of from ten to twenty-five 
words makes its appeal to the passing automobilist 
and pedestrian. Our church being on a corner, and 
traffic being halted every two minutes, thousands of 
people inevitably get the benefit of that wayside 
message from their cars. 

“The display sign, or shaft, rests above this bul- 
letin board as the crowning feature of the brightly 
illuminated vestibule, It is 21%4 feet square, twenty- 


218 Church Administration 








four feet high, with raised, white, opal-glass letters, 
reading ‘The Community Church, and is lighted 
by thirty 75-watt nitrogen lamps. The bulletin 
board is lighted by thirty-six 30-watt Mazda lamps. 

“On either side of the large bulletin board are 
two illuminated panels, displaying the stated meet- 
ings and activities of the church. Glass panels in 
the back of this sign furnish light inside the vesti- 
bule, as do also four 75-watt nitrogen lamps in the 
ceiling panels. Upon the glass panels backing the 
bulletin sign appear the words ‘COME AGAIN,’ so 
placed that they extend an invitation to the people 
as they leave the church. Upon the upper plate 
glass panels in the sides of the vestibule have been 
painted in gold letters the names of the pastor, the 
assistant, church visitor, and organist. 

“This whole artistic and brilliant church entrance 
makes its appeal blocks away. It is our way of 
letting the church speak for itself, outwardly. 

“Would that time might permit me to release 
some results. I could tell about numerous and defi- 
nite individuals who have alone produced results 
commensurate with the heavy cost of our outdoor 
advertising endeavors.” 


Flood Lighting 


The above is a very complete outline of the possi- 
bilities of outdoor advertising. About the only 
thing to be added to it is flood lighting which has 
been adopted by quite a few churches. This scheme 
consists of having powerful lights, concealed in 
front of the church but equipped with reflectors, so 
that the entire church will be flooded with white 
light, letting it be its own publicity agent. We 


Effective Publicity Plans 219 





find such flood lighting at the Hennepin Ave- 
nue Methodist Episcopal Church, Minneapolis; 
Methodist Temple, Chicago; Linwood Boulevard 
Methodist Church, Kansas City; Muchmore Pres- 
byterian Church, Philadelphia, and many others are 
adopting the plan. 


THE YEAR BOOK 


The custom of issuing an annual directory or 
year book is one which seems to be growing with 
the churches. They range in size from a dozen 
pages to bound volumes of several hundred pages. 
The contents of these volumes vary with individual 
instances. The index from the Manual of the First 
Presbyterian Church, Independence, Iowa, will give 
an idea of how complete they may be. (See page 
220.) 

Among features peculiar to others, we might note 
these: Bethany Presbyterian Church, Johnstown, 
Pennsylvania, includes in the section of members 
several blank pages so that the members may record 
the names of those who join the church during the 
year. Central Presbyterian Church, McKeesport, 
Pennsylvania, gives a detailed financial report of 
each member, including the amount pledged for both 
local work and benevolences, the amount paid and 
the amount still due. Here and there these direc- 
tories contain maps of the city showing church loca- 
tions or accessibility to the church. In the direc- 
tory of the Church of Christ, Canton, Pennsylvania, 
the church is placed on the map within a circle which 
is labeled, “A warm spot in the heart of Canton.” 
Many of these year books are financed by advertise- 
ments of local merchants. Some year books contain 


220 Church Administration 





the rules of admission into the church membership. 
At least one, that of the Second Presbyterian 


Adalt Bible Classes o2.cew's\s ae aspic essa OER Rien 
Benevolent Treasurer, Report of ....... is aah oes Se 


Board ‘of, Religious, Education 3.25. 0. .e 4... vee ene 
CHIT acces trey pela clots ow diolaiece fala eh etars Sitemeter ae ae 
Church® Treasurer, Report of.) ....2..4 o0.cn ee eee 
Contributors’ (non-member), .i)s5. 2.5. ss 0s ate ote ke 
Deaths, “during year's. ssicws elsios Sas ese w be oe ee er 
Deacotis, ‘Board G8 eis 26s as aes 2 bee 2 
ReEPOrt Ot} ate 's's hie s we'alee ale whic Ged aie Sae Been tere 
Directory: of Church Officérsacee. te. ce. eee 
Financial Summary, Complete 20; \i0i) 0.5 oe ee eee 
Tiistorical sDatau’ ss. Wl yoigis mie elelel eG 8 oe Cee ie ee 
Ladies’. Social’ Society, ‘Report of, ‘ete. 1.0.2... a. ae eee 
Light, Bearers. S00 Vi. Sa ae els enlace «eile one 
Members, Rolk obi a ose ale oaks sgl oles oe 
Members, Non-resident, Roll 6f .........55 006 om ememeens 
Music, Committee is ir, Feb 00 las coletee ctere es rene 
Pastor's) Reports 05 ssa pele oss cies are ele pio art ree 
Sabbath School— 
Children’s Department, Report of...........esceeess 
Committees; Special) Days joo. o.\5 :. <vde bole ete ee 
Cradle Roll) Report ofia sis oo. . 2 
Home Department, ‘Report iof 2. ..2. 0... s0 on see ee 
Officers, Directory Of cae sie wis oo oo ete leone 
Orchestras iced Cees eae cates aes oe s)s ted arene ee 
Scheme of Organization .¢.2.0...4. +o. 00 en ee 
Secrétary’s Reporte iis sk Cay oo ee Galea 
Superintendent’s ‘Report ..0/.4..... 00. «sine ed 
Lreasurer’s ) Report:i/s2 J. Walelds ea'a = icceisial cy enn ee 
Two-year Oummary wale sen ole on eae lee 
session, Members, term)of office, etc... 0). ee ae 
Repost /of Clerk iqayoey a 050 sea a ne a en 
Stated: ‘Meetings: ij. 2a ee a, es Go 
Trustees, Members, term of office, etc. ........0.22cece. 
Sub-Committees’ of |...) oie seeds sae ieee oon 
Ushersy eee a reg Shee Wi a i as Soscaled la ones 
Westminster Guild, G. S. Chapter, Report of.......... 
Westminster Guild, G. L. Circle, Report of, etc. ...... 
Women’s Missionary Society, Report of, etc. .........- 
Y.Pw S.C. Report Of, etc...) ks. oe se ee 


Church, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, has in addition to 
the list of members a list of the tithers in the 
church. 





Effective Publicity Plans © oot 


WINDOW. CARDS, DODGERS, ETC. 


The success of this type of publicity, in addition 
to the consideration of the matter of set-up, depends 
largely upon the distribution. For that reason it 
falls below many others in its effectiveness. House- 
to-house distribution is a difficult thing except in 
small communities. Window cards may be more 
effectively distributed. It is asking a great deal of 
any merchant when window space is sought. While 
he might be willing to give it to the church, it means 
a pressure from other organizations for the same 
privilege. 

For this reason the church owes it to the business 
house to make the card very attractive. It should 
not be anything that will mar the attractiveness of 
a display window. It should be on a stiff cardboard 
so that it will not flop over and look like a wilted 
flower. It ought not to be a handwritten card de- 
vised to save a few cents, You are asking valuable 
space and should reciprocate by using an announce- 
ment artistically worth while. 

Blotters offer a good type of desk publicity. They 
are more permanent than cards. I know from per- 
sonal experience that the names of those churches 
which are on blotters which come to me are kept in 
mind. I found myself in Louisville, Kentucky, on 
a recent Sunday night. Finding I had time for 
church, the one I turned to was the Walnut Street 
Baptist Church which had supplied me with a desk 
blotter. There are many strong churches in Louis- 
ville but the blotter publicity moved me. 


222 Church Administration 





CALENDARS 


Calendars give a permanency to printed publicity 
lacking in some other features. If it is given a place 
in the home or the office it will carry its message 
for a year. Church calendars may be simple and 
inexpensive, bearing the picture of the church with 
announcement of the services, or they may be elabo- 
rate affairs. Denominational houses will provide 
them, giving denominational material and, in the 
case of the liturgical churches, they will have the 
days colored according to their symbolic signifi- 
cance. The most elaborate which has come to our 
attention was a birthday calendar with the names of 
individuals printed in the square for each day of the 
year. This is a difficult and costly process but it has 
a personal interest value not present in the others. 


DENOMINATIONAL HANDBOOKS 


Many of the denominations provide an annual 
handbook which can be purchased for a few cents 
and provides an excellent medium of publicity. It 
contains much historic and denominational matter 
and the imprint of the local church can be given the 
booklet. Prayer meeting and Sunday school topics 
are usually included, adding to the value of the 
feature. 


TELEPHONE PUBLICITY 


The telephone offers a unique publicity service. 
It is particularly useful in following up mail pub- 
licity. When a board meeting has been called it 
pays to get each of the members on the phone the 


Effective Publicity Plans 223 





last day as a reminder that he is expected to be 
there. It also has some evangelistic value, but this 
will be found mostly through some organized 
method such as that used by the men’s Bible class 
of the Mount Airy Presbyterian Church, Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania. This class planned and car- 
ried through what it called a Telephone Day. 

Fifty men of the class each promised to call ten 
men whose names were handed to them, tell them 
of the class, and invite them to attend the next 
Sunday. 

Here is the statement of one of the men who com- 
pleted his task early in the week: 

“Hada wonderful experience. Every man 
treated me great. Even a man of the Catholic 
faith congratulated me on the method. I expect 
five or possibly six of my ten to be on hand next 
Sunday.” 


DIRECT MAIL ADVERTISING 


This type of publicity offers the greatest im- 
mediate and direct returns. It is important enough 
to deserve a chapter by itself, which we are giving 
it. The returns can be easily tabulated. Most 
direct mail methods are inexpensive. The minister 
would do well to subscribe to The Mailbag, Postage, 
or some other direct mail periodical, just to see how 
effective the system may be for him. 


CHAPTER 12 
ADVERTISING TECHNIQUE 


It is going to be a long time before any principles 
of advertising will be formulated which will be ac- 
ceptable to the whole Church. As a whole, church- 
men to-day are willing to confess they know less 
about it than they did some years ago. That is but 
natural, for in the commercial field as well adver- 
tising is going through a reanalysis and a recon- 
struction. Business is now not quite so sure that 
all one has to do is to buy enough magazine space 
and prosperity is assured. One of the things which 
erows on the author as he becomes more and more 
familiar with the churches in America is the large 
number of great churches which seem to maintain 
their strength without resort to the bizarre methods 
of publicity which some have told us are necessary 
to get people interested in the church. 

I think many ministers would be surprised to 
learn how carefully business investigates before it 
invests in space. Howard A. Barton in his How to 
Write Advertising * advises his readers that the day 
of psychological advertising is past. _ Business 
to-day makes a test of every field before it invests. 
Advertisers are not so sure that there is a magic 
psychology which opens the avenue to sales. To 
quote from Barton in the book mentioned above: 

“Advertising to-day seems to be in what we call 
the research phase. Very few advertising writers 
are willing to write a line until somebody has gone 

1 How to Write Advertising by Piso A. Barton, Lippincott. 


Advertising Technique Dae 


out and gleaned the facts fresh from the field. We 
must know who buys, how often, in fact, the im- 
mortal six questions of Kipling—who, when, how, 
what, where, and why—must be answered by the 
actual distributors and buyers of a product before 
it can be intelligently advertised and written about. 
Some advertisers, schooled to the profession, make 
tests of every advertisement, by some means or 
other, before allowing it to be published.” 

The tests referred to consist in actually trying out 
in hundreds of instances various types of copy to 
judge their effectiveness. Mail-order houses very 
seldom send out a letter until samples have gone out 
to hundreds and a check up made on their “pulling”’ 
power. This testing in church advertising is some- 
thing the minister will have to work out for him- 
self. It is a matter of trying here and there until 
he finds the method and the copy which will bring 
the biggest results. 

One thing we must recognize and that is the re- 
ligious appeal of the church. I don’t know whether 
more mistakes have been made in the writing of 
church advertising by ministers who know noth- 
ing about advertising principles or by advertising 
writers who know nothing about the church. We 
have all seen some foolish expenditures of money by 
advertising men who thought that they could coax 
people to church. A different instinct must be ap- 
pealed to in order to fill the church than the writer 
would appeal to in selling soap. That is one reason 
why I believe that the church advertising is to be 
written by the ministers who know. the church psy- 
chology. But before they can write it successfully 
they must know the first principles of commercial 
advertising. 


226 Church Administration 








The medium of church advertising will include 
the church calendar, announcements, letters, special 
folders, reports, year book, bulletin boards, display 
signs, window cards, and newspaper space. In in- 
dividual instances newspaper advertising may be the 
kind which pays; in another it may be the direct 
mail advertising. For instance, in a church located 
at the edge of a great city, with a purely sectional 
appeal, it would seem that newspaper advertising 
would not be the kind that pays. But this is a 
matter for testing. Try it out and see what kind 
brings results. That is the logical and sensible 
thing to do. 

But the general principle in all kinds of adver- 
tising using printer’s ink are the same. The ads 
must attract, hold and lead to action. This is to be 
accomplished by the layout of the display and its 
contents. We will want to keep these two things 
distinct to understand the technique of the adver- 
tisement. The layout is a matter of type, illustra- 
tions, and space; the contents consist of the words 
and sentences which have been written to go into 
the layout. The advertising man usually sends to 
the printer his copy for the advertisement and with 
it the layout as it is to appear when completed. 

If you buy space in a paper it will have to cor- 
respond with the make-up of the sheet. It will be 
so many columns wide and so many inches deep. 
You will have a square or a rectangular space. Into 
this you must fit your copy. And while the space is 
very regular you will want to avoid the monotony 
of regularity in your layout. 

On page 227 is a very simple little design which 
will show you the focal or the strongest point in the 
layout. The focal point is analogous to the climax 


Advertising Technique pp: 





C= Actual Center 
A= Focal Center 


Objects placed at X and Y¥ need emphasis 
to counteract the “pull” of A 


(One need not assume from this that he is compelled to place the 
element of primary interest in the focal center. What he must do 
is to always consider the focal point in making the arrangement of 
all the elements. The greater the violation of the primary element 
in placement, the greater the compensation which must be allowed 
the other elements of the layout.) 


228 Church Administration 





of a story, the difference being that in the layout 
the climax comes first. In advertising there is no 
time for the gradual development of interest, no 
time for arousing your reader before presenting the 
climax. The complete story is presented at one 
time and as a unit. 

The layout is the rational, deliberative placement 
of materials in accordance with a preconceived ef- 
fect. Everything which goes into it, headlines, illus- 
trations, borders and text, is to develop that effect. 
It is a matter of turning and twisting materials until 
the right combination is achieved. I do not know 
of any definite rules of advertising composition 
which can be given to help in meeting the situation. 
Every advertisement must have original research 
and attention. 

Here are, however, some things which every dis- 
play should be tested by. 

i. The important item should be at the focal 
point. 

2. It should express your thought. 

3. The regularity which is monotony should be 
avoided. 

A. There must be contrast, dark against light, 
etc. 

s. Margins should be free and open. 

6. There must be a sense of proportion. 


THE MATERIALS FOR BUILDING THE GOOD AD 
Type 


Every display ad is made of more or less type. 
It is the simplest tool the writer has and it is well 
to see its possibilities. The printer is always ready 


Advertising Technique 229 


a TE Sa ES Se 





to help the minister out with this side of the display 
and unless the minister is pretty well informed it 
may be wise to follow his advice. But when he 
knows his type he can lay out his ad just as he wants 
it. A few of the more common types can be men- 
tioned here. 

Modern Roman. This is the most commonly used 
type and is the kind found in most books and maga- 
zines. It can be depended on for the body material 
of any piece of printing from a book to a label, and 
in many cases can be used for headlines as well. 

Italics may be used for emphasis, which may also 
be secured by bold-faced roman or by simply under- 
scoring the plain roman. Bold-faced italic is par- 
ticularly strong. 

Script is seldom used in advertisements, its at- 
tention value being weaker than other forms. 

@lv English is very effective in church display 
advertising and in formal and artistic announce- 
ments. Capitals of Old English run together and 
are illegible, and for these reasons should not be 
used. 

Antique type is a heavier face than roman but 
not heavy enough to be considered as bold-faced. 

Gothic is a very plain, unshaded type which 
many use for bold, strong display. Here again 
continuous use of the capitals should be avoided. 

The small letters (as opposed to capitals) are 
known as lower case type. It is designated in the 
copy as lc. When the first letter of each word is to 
be a capital but the rest Ic, the set-up is referred to 
AS icandic. = 

Type is measured according to a system adopted 
by the type founders in 1886 and known as the point 
system. A point is nearly one seventy-second of an 


230 Church Administration 





inch; so a letter measured by the number of points 
is known as six point, ten point, etc. This chart will 
show somewhat the variation in the various sizes of 


type. 


This is 434 point, old name “Diamond” 

This is 6 point, old name ‘‘Pear!’’ 

This is 534 point, old name ‘‘Agate” 

This is 6 point, old name ‘‘Nonpareil’”’ . 

This is 7 point, old name ‘‘Minion’”’ 

This is 8 point, old name ‘‘Brevier’’ 

This is 9 point, old name ‘‘Bourgeois”’ 

This is 10 point, old name “‘Long Primer” 
This is 11 point, old name “‘Small Pica” 
This is 12 point, old name ‘Pica?’ 


This is 14 point, old name “English” 
This is 18 point, old name “Great 
Primer”’ 


Displaying Type 


When one understands the various kinds of type 
one can with a little ingenuity build up attractive 
ads by using these, and build simple designs by 
means of rules and border which the average printer 
will have in his stock. On page 231 are two similar 
announcements which will illustrate what I have in 
mind. They are on cards of similar size. I leave 
it to the judgment of the reader as to which one 
makes the brighter and quicker appeal. You will 
notice that Number I mixes its capitals, while 
Number 2 confines itself to c and lc. Number 1 
uses rules for variation and emphasis; Number 2 
does not. 


Advertising Technique DOL 


— 





et AeA aE RIGOR ST | 
CN ovem ber ss Hirst Preshuterian Church 


‘ REV. WILFORD HALL TAYLOR, Pastor 








cMESSIAH \ HARVARD, ILLINOIS 
LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
dite Belge eat Special Sunday Morning Services 


DENVER, COLORADO 
—— a 10:30 to 11:30 A. M. 
REv. WILSON P. ARD, Minister 





. GO-TO-CHURCH SUNDAY May 10—Mother’s Day 
NOvEMOER: | May 17—Chureh Officers 
"300 p ete reat sith”? Installation of Church Officers and 
(First in a series of Sunday evening sermons on Recognition of all other officers of 
ah eet ea eee different organizations. 
fo eR rape eT PET. Sunday; 
11:00 A. M—“TheG h of National Ideals” ur Guests— So he 
8:00 P. M._"Faith ‘ee “God his) eiaake The Grand Army of the Republic 
; Great” The Woman’s Relief Corps 
STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY The American Legion thsihiah 
NOVEMBER 15 The American Legion Auxiliary 
11:00 A. M.— "The Foolish Farmer” | May 31—New Members . 
BAG Paha rhe Hose et ae Reception of New Members into the 
NOVEMBER 2 7 : 
11:00 A. M.—“A Thanksgiving Peast”” June 14—Children 8 Day ‘ sata 
8:00 P. M—‘‘The Problem of Believing” Consecration of children in baptism. 
EVERY-MEMBER-CANVASS Every Sunday— 
NOVEMBER 29 i Sunday School at Park Street at 9:00 
11:00 A. M.—“‘The World’s Greatest Giver’ A. M.; at the Church at 11:30 A.M. 
CFrom two to five o'slock this afc sade) Christian Endeavor: Junior, 2:30 P. 
8:00 P. M.—"Do We Have the Faith of Jesus?” M.; High School and Senior, 6:30 





Pp. M. 
Evening Worship, 7:30 P. M. 


Wee are extended a most cordial invitation to 
attend the services of Messiah Lutheran June 22 to July 2 


Church. Helpful secmons; splendid music; 2 : bey i 
friendly welcome; an uplifting atmosphere; , Daily Vacation Bible School for boys 
courteous ushers; genuine Christian comrade- and girls. 


ship. “Ask the man who comes.” 


“The church is the noblest and 
best organization in the world”? 





There are other things which also help to make 
Number 1 the best selling announcement, but they 
cannot be shown here. The cardboard used is better 
and most of the rules are in blue. But set in black 


type on white paper as here one can easily see the 
value of type arrangement. 


232 Church Administration 





Illustrating 


A good illustration usually helps any advertise- 
ment. Unfortunately it costs to produce a good 
illustration and this eliminates it from most church 
publicity. There is always the consolation that a 
good type and line display is better than a poor 
illustration. Then there are houses which provide 
plates of various types at very reasonable cost, made 
especially for church advertising. It would pay the 
minister to keep in touch with these houses. If a 
minister has a streak of ingenuity he can oftentimes 
make use of commercial cuts which the printer has 
on hand. Irving Cobb tells the story of the news- 
paper editor who used the arm of the “Arm and 
Hammer Soda” to illustrate a prize fight. The min- 
ister can do better than that. 


The various types of illustrating may be classed . 


as follows: 

1. Lhe Zinc Etching. This is a reproduction of 
any pen-and-ink drawing, type matter or tracing. 
The copy is placed before a camera and a negative 
obtained. No screen is used. The negative is 
usually printed upon a zinc plate, though for finer 
effects copper may be used. The zinc between the 
photographed lines is removed by the use of nitric 
acid until in this acid bath the proper printing depth 
has been obtained. 

2. The Electrotype. In making an electrotype 
an impression of a zinc etching is made in wax and 
suspended with a plate of copper in an acidulated 
solution of copper sulphate. An electric current is 
then turned on and the waxed impression begins 
to be plated. When of sufficient thickness, the wax 
is removed from the plate, and after mechanical 


Advertising Technique ya ta" 





adjustment the new impression or electrotype is 
ready for the printing press. 

3. Halftones. These are made either from the 
object itself, from photographs or from wash 
drawings in black. The first step in the halftone 
process is the photographing of the object of illus- 
tration through a screen interposed between the 
copy and a sensitized plate in the camera. The 
result is a negative the surface of which has been 
broken up into very small dots. In proportion to 
their size these dots give all the degrees of tone 
except positive black or white. Hence, the name 
“halftone.” The negative is printed on a copper 
plate and goes through the etching process de- 
scribed above. 

4. Stereotype. This is a simple process 
whereby the same advertisement may be dupli- 
cated. Stereotypes are made by beating a 
moistened paper pulp substance against the type 
form in which the layout has been put. This pulp 
with its impression is then heated, dried and placed 
in a half cylinder, when the molten type metal is 
run into the space between the cylinder and the 
paper. By a mechanical device this type metal iS 
hardened into the desired impression before the 
paper has been even scorched. ‘There are church 
advertising houses which now will furnish these 
pulp forms known as “mats,” from which the user 
may make his own stereotype. One advantage of 
this is the lightness of the stereotype and the ease 
of transportation. 


PROOFREADING 


Many times a minister is at a loss in the cor- 
recting of his copy for the reason that he is not 


234 


Church Administration 





3 
S) 
sfet 


0 





SIGNS USED IN CORRECTING PROOFS 


Push down the lead which is showing with the 
type. 
Delete; take out. 


_Turn inverted letter right side up. 


| Let it remain; change made was wrong. 


Indent one em. 
A period. 


The type line is urteven at the side of the page; 
straighten it. 


A broken letter. 

A hyphen. 

Use italics. 

Join together; take out the space. 
Take out letter and close up. 
Put in middle of page, or line. 
Straighten lines. 

Insert an apostrophe. 

Insert a‘comma.' 

Raise the word or letter. 
Lower the word or letter. 
Bring matter to the left. 
Bring matter to the right. 
Make a space. 


Advertising Technique 235 





lead A thin metalstrip used to widen the space be- 
tween the lines. 


space out Spread words farther apart. 


q Make. a paragraph. 

no J Ruh on without a paragraph. 

cap. Use a capital. 

lic. Use the lower case (small type), i.e. not capitals, 
ee, Small capitals. 

wf. Wrong font — size or style. 

font. Kind of type.. 

tr. Transpose. . 

rom. Use roman letter. 


overrun Carry over to next line. 

A Indicates where an insertion is to be made. 
Qy. or (?) Doubt as to spelling, etc. 

a Indicates CAPITAL letters. 

= Indicates SMALL CAPITAL letters. 

— Indicates italic letters, 

~~ Indicates black type letters. 

== Indicates BLACK CAPITALS. 

= Indicates BLACK SMALL CAPITALS. 

= Indicates black italic. 


236 Church Administration 

ESAS EAR RR NRA AR 
familiar with the signs of proofreading. To 
facilitate his work a table of the symbols is given. 
(See pages 234 and 235.) 





THE UNION LABEL 


On several pieces of publicity in this book you 
will notice the union label. This is assurance that 
the work was done in a union shop. To some 
churches this means nothing. But others which 
like to have their approval of organized labor 
known insist on its being displayed on all of their 
printing. 


CHAPTER 13 


UNCLE SAM AS THE MINISTER'S 
ASSISTANT 


Most of the material in this chapter could as 
well be labeled evangelism, for it is purely a 
method of increasing the spiritual life of the 
church. But that chapter is a lengthy one so into 
this we crowd some methods which have brought 
results through the use of the mail system. 

I think it might be well for the minister to sub- 
scribe to one of the magazines devoted to direct 
mail advertising. From it he would constantly be 
gaining ideas which could be transferred to church 
work. Suffice it to say that men who build mail- 
order businesses know that they can depend upon 
certain laws and can estimate pretty closely the 
returns on any one piece of publicity. It would be 
well for the minister seriously to consider this 
phase of activity. 


SPENDING MONEY FOR POSTAGE 


More and more churches are learning that it 
pays to spend money for postage. It is about the 
only way to reach the entire congregation with any 
announcement or proposition. We discuss in an- 
other chapter the use of the direct mail system in 
the every-member canvass. ‘The financial side of 
church activities is not the only one which can find 


use in this method. 
237 


238 Church Administration 





It is a mighty good church that has an average 
of 60 per cent of its congregation at any one service 
or at both services on any one Sunday. No matter 
how eloquent an announcement may be, one made 


AND RETURN THE CARD 
AT ONCE 


Please Answer these Questions 


I. Do you favor an evening service in our church? 


II. If an evening service is offered, would you support it by 
regular attendance? 


III. What type of evening service would appeal to you? 
Make your suggestions. 


Sign your name 





Referendum on the Evening Service 


This was used by the First Congregational Church, Waterloo, 
Iowa. The questions were printed on a postcard. It was sent out 
with a letter. The postcard has the return address printed on it. 


before the congregation at the service cannot be any 
where near 100 per cent perfect. Subtract from 
the number present those who did not hear correctly 
and it will be found that the proposition did not get 
across to a very large proportion. But have the 
announcement printed. Put it into an envelope and 
mail it to every member. Not all will read it but a 
much higher percentage will be obtained in this way. 


Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 239 





THE REFERENDUM 


There are many possibilities in a “mail refer- 
endum.” A church we know of submitted by mail 
the proposition as to whether the pew system should 
be abolished in favor of a more modern system of 
church finance. Another church put the question 
of a building site up to the congregation in that way. 
I have used this method in asking the congregation 
to select five men to serve on a building committee. 
After the vote was taken the election was confirmed 
by the stated meeting to comply with the law. 
There are many, many ways in which this plan can 
be used, though, of course, it has its limitations. 

Experience has taught a number of things. 

First, you can’t expect the majority of people 
to express themselves freely by mail. It is well if 
you want an expression to send out a question so 
worded that it can be answered with a check mark 
or a plain Yes or No. 

Second, if the question is a vital one, there should 
be some preliminary procedure to inform the mem- 
bership so that the decision will be an intelligent one. 

Third, if a special meeting is required to make the 
action legal, make that plain in the letter. Urge 
them to come to the legal meeting, but make plain 
that the vote is purely an advisory one and is not 
binding, though it will give the official meeting an 
idea of the mind of the people. 


A SATURDAY NEWSPAPER 


More and more churches are beginning to sub- 
stitute a weekly news sheet for the conventional 
Sunday bulletin. This seems to me to be a logical 


240 Church Atiniseestion 





development of church publicity idea. Some kind 
of weekly announcement is necessary in most 
parishes. The Sunday calendar may be a thing of 
beauty but unless it carries its message to all the 
congregation it doesn’t do its part. Some churches 
will use it on Sunday and then mail it out on Mon- 
day morning. When there is vital news or an im- 
portant announcement to be made one ought to feel 
free to cut down on the space given to an order of 
service which all the worshipers know anyway. 
The old church bulletin with an entire page given 
to the officers of the church is an anachronism in 
this day of ideas. 

This is where the Saturday news sheet has it over 
the Sunday calendar. It is usually not a large 
periodical and may not be much larger than the ordi- 
nary bulletin. But each Saturday it will bring to 
the membership a reminder of the Sunday services 
and of events which are coming. During the days 
when a canvass of any sort is imminent it can take 
the place of letters. Many form letters, cards and 
other advertising features can be eliminated if the 
preacher has a weekly messenger he can speak 
through to his entire congregation. 

While it costs to send out letters, a church which 
issues a weekly news sheet may take advantage of 


the opportunity to use the second-class rates. In — 


order to do this there must be a bona fide subscrip- 
tion list. This may either be accomplished by 
actually taking subscriptions, though as a rule this 
is a tedious and impossible task. A clause put in the 
annual pledge card stating that the first twenty-five 
cents paid in goes for one year’s subscription to the 
news sheet will fill the government requirement. 
Rev. Ralph Stoody tells me that the cost of mailing 


— - - 


Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 241 


out five hundred copies of the Grace Church Mes- 
senger, Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, St. 
Johnsbury, Vermont, at this rate is but ten cents. 

Another advantage—a financial one—that these 
news sheets have over the Sunday calendar is that 
they can carry advertising, thus reducing the cost 
of the issue. Of course, one might carry advertis- 
ing on the Sunday bulletin if one cared to, but it 
seems a little out of place in the service of worship. 
Many news sheets have come from churches to the 
desk of the writer. They are mostly small four- or 
six-page sheets, some of which carry advertising 
while others do not, but all avail themselves of the 
second-class mailing rates. Where a subscription 
is charged it is twenty-five cents per year. 


GETTING MEMBERS BY MAIL 


Personally I have always been skeptical of a mail 
system of securing members. But facts are facts 
and there is no question but that it works. The 
First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Little 
Rock, Arkansas, has a membership of 2,800. Dur- 
ing the eight years’ pastorate of Dr. Philip Cone 
Fletcher, 2,400 members have been received. Not 
an additional service has been held, yet there are 
new members constantly coming. The secret of his 
plan is a system of mailing to prospective members 
a letter asking them to join the church and enclos- 
ing an application for enrollment. Dr. Fletcher 
almost always follows this with a personal visit, but 
the letter has paved the way. Says his secretary, 
“Tt is surprising how many of these cards are 
returned. Not always for the next class, but sooner 
or later they come in.” 


242 Church Administration 


ne ES A Es 





On the other hand, some very successful ministers 
have made personal appeals by mail. Knowing that 
a man is difficult to approach, they will sit down and 
write him in a direct, friendly way asking if the 
time has not come when he should make his decision 
for the church and urging the arrangement of a date 
when the matter may be discussed. This, however, 
should not be confused with a form letter. Itisa 
full-hearted message which is seeking a definite 
individual. : 


ENLISTED FOR SERVICE 


Ministers and Christian laymen are insistent that 
church membership should mean more than the op- 
portunity to sit in a pew. Some one has suggested 
that instead of having people “join the church” we 
should encourage them to “enlist for service.” It 
was a wise person who remarked, “The church is 
filled with willing people; some are willing to work 
and others are willing to let them.” A Presbyterian 
bulletin carries the caption, ‘“Lord, use me—in an 
advisory capacity.” 

This tendency of requiring active participation in 
the services of the church has led to various forms 
for enlistment. The usual way is to call attention 
to the ways in which a member may serve. The 
Billings, Montana, Congregational Church thus ex- 
presses its wish in the church bulletin. 

The following suggestions were sent out from the 
Greenwich Presbyterian Church, New York. On 
page 243 is a rather complete enlistment card 
(maybe too complete), but it is a good illustration 
of possibilities along this line. I have sometimes 
wondered what would happen if everybody wanted 





Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 243 


SS 





to teach a Sunday school class or sing in the choir. 
I presume that the volunteers for these tasks are 
never so numerous as to swamp the absorbing 
capacity of the organization. 


WANTED 


522 Recruits for Duty this Season! 

300 “regular” for the Church School. 

20 volunteers for the Choir. 

100 workers for Fellowship visits and the every 
Member Class. 

25 men for a Bible Class. 

75 people for Church Night. 

450 people “regular” at Morning Worship. 

75 women to work in the Ladies’ Society. 

30 young folks in the Sunday Night Club. 

50 boys in the 4-Square Clubs. 

15 girls in the Junior Choir. 

26 teachers in the Church School. 


1,566 “jobs” or three each for 522 people! 


Come and Get Yours! 





Believing in my responsibility to my God for the work 
of His church and being willing to have a part in the work 
of His kingdom I will codperate with our church as 
follows: 

I will pray daily for my church, for its pastor, for its 
workers and members and for God’s blessing upon our 
program for the year, or (see next question) 

Instead of praying once daily, I will pray night and morn- 
ing for these aims. 

I will make every effort to attend one preaching service 
a week at the church. 

I will endeavor to attend the midweek service as regu- 
larly as possible. | 

I will set aside some time each day for the reading of my 
Bible and for quiet prayer. 


244 Church Administration 





Work for the Church 


1. I will agree to make one call a week on strangers 
whose names may be sent me by the committee. 

2. I will seek out in my own neighborhood at least one 
person a week who does not attend church and invite him 
to come. 

3. I will plan to invite and bring with me to church one 
new person every month. 

4. Although not agreeing to call myself, I will send the 
names of one or two people each week who would be pros- 
pects for church members or attendants. 

5. I will take a class in the Sunday school if asked. 

6. Because I have not the training to teach in the Sunday 
school I will give one night a week to attend the thirty 
weeks’ course in teacher training beginning in January to 
enable me to undertake this work. 

7. I will assist occasionally in the work of preparing and 
serving church suppers. 

8. I will make every effort to attend regularly once a 
month one of the following meetings according to my sex: 

Pastor’s Aid Society. 

Women’s Missionary Society. 

Women’s Friendly Society. 

Greenwich Men’s Association. 

The Ushers’ Club. 

Greenwich Girls’ Club. 

9. I will read a verse of Scripture or a clipping at the 
midweek service if given it by the leader. 

10. I will agree either. 

(a) to act as usher, 

(b) to greet people at the door as I may be re- 
quested to by the committee. 

(c) to try to speak to and shake hands with at 
least two people after the close of the service 
every Sunday. 

11. I will go over my income and expenditures and con- 
sider in a new light whether I am doing my full duty as a 
Christian steward in the amount I am giving to my church 


for its expenses and for the great missionary enterprises of 
my denomination. 


Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 245 








While defects might be found in any enlistment 
card, I think that no one will question that this is 
a move in the right direction. Church members are 
happier when they are put at work. A card such as 
this puts it up to them straight. They have an 
opportunity to designate the kind of work they like. 
But after they have indicated their willingness it is 
plainly up to the church to see that they are put at 
work. 

These cards may be distributed in the congrega- 
tion in connection with an announcement or sermon 
regarding them but they should also be mailed to 
reach the largest possible number. If the church 
has a news sheet, an explanation can be made and 
the list printed in the paper. Or it may be printed 
on the Sunday bulletin and a sufficient number of 
the issue printed to mail out the next day. 


GETTING OUT THE MAIL 


This entire chapter has presupposed one thing, 
that is, that the church has an accurate mailing list. 
This is something every live church should do. Do 
not allow members to get lost. Keep the addresses 
checked up. You may want your lists classified in 
a number of ways. 

1. A complete list of church members. 

2. Heads of families. 

3. Officers and members of societies. 

These three lists are enough for practical pur- 
pose. Most churches will have also a prospective 
members’ list but that should not be confused with 
the communicants’ lists above. 

No matter who sends out the mail some kind of 
an addressing machine is a necessity. If the mail 


246 Church Administration 








goes out from the church office the church should 
own one. The plates for the machine provide an 
index in themselves and the work will be done 
quickly and accurately. 


POST=CARD SPUBLICILY. 


The post-card is not to be despised as a means of 
publicity. If one will give proper consideration to 
getting out an attractive design which will catch 
the eye, it may be most effective. It has an advan- 
tage over the letter in that one does not have to tear 
open an envelope to see the message. 

George H. Doran Company, publishers of this 
book, have utilized the advantage of the post-card 
in reaching their trade list. On the proposition that 
one point a day is pretty effective publicity the house 
started the Daily Free Press, with a message printed 
ona post-card. The results were not alone a matter 
of comment, but the information on the card got 
across. Why wouldn’t this be a fine idea for a 
church? 

Take particularly the days of a campaign. Sup- 
pose that each night a card is prepared to get to the 
congregation in the morning mail. These can be 
addressed beforehand so that it is a simple matter 
of having the impressions made. It would be much 
more effective than trying to get the people together 
for mass meetings. 

The South Congregational Church of Newport, 
New Hampshire, has worked out a scheme whereby 
men solicit men by means of post-cards. Attractive 
cards of a suitable design are chosen. ‘These are 
imprinted with some design such as, “I will be glad 
to meet you at church next Sunday.’ Then these 


Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 247 





are given out to a dozen picked men in the church 
who sign them and mail them out to selected men 
whom they wish to interest. This is followed up 
by a check-up on Sunday and personal attention is 
given to the men who respond to the invitation. 


KEEPING THE MAILING LIST UP-TO-DATE 


This is the problem of every direct mailing con- 
cern. Every incorrect address means a loss. It is 
also a problem with churches. If 10 per cent of the 
addresses are wrong it means a corresponding dit- 
ference in the returns. Ministers would be inter- 
ested to know just what pains houses using direct 
mail advertising take to keep their list up-to-date, 
and yet there is no list which is perfect. 

It is more simple with the church for, at the 
most, there are but a few hundred addresses. But 
people are constantly moving and many churches 
have more than 10 per cent “addresses unknown.” 
How can this be remedied? 

The congregation can be educated to an apprecia- 
tion of reporting changes of address. This can be 
done by calling attention to the matter on the church 
calendar and by having convenient cards in the card ~ 
racks for recording any changes. A certain per- 
centage of the people will respond to an appeal such 
as this. Many, of course, will not. 

The minister will constantly find in his calls that 
changes have been made and will record them on 
returning to the office. One advantage of the ad- 
dressing machine is that the necessity of having 
plates made, though they cost money, stresses the 
point of making an effort to have things correct. 

A third and very effective way is to have regular 


248 Church Administration 








and systematic visitation throughout the parish, say, 
once a quarter, which will give a check-up on all 
addresses. The Central Presbyterian Church of 
Buffalo makes this visitation in connection with its 
communion roll call. It is conducted by the elders 
of the church who are personally to leave the “com- 
munion cards” in each home. If the family has 
moved, the elder is to take the card to the new 
address. If at the post-communion Session meet- 
ing he has still cards which have not been delivered, 
the minister calls attention to the fact that he must 
locate the family, if at all possible. In this way the 
number of unknown addresses is greatly reduced. 


TESTING LETTERS 


The best authorities on direct mail advertising 
are agreed that every letter should be tested before 
it is used on a large list. A few hundred typical 
names are selected and the mail sent out to them. 
A record of the returns determines the pulling 
power. I doubt if anybody can analyze the strength 
of a letter or any other form of advertising without 
testing. 

It is difficult to test church letters in this way. 
The next best thing is to learn through one’s own 
experience or through the experience of other 
churches just what kind of letters pull. The value 
of these given here as sample letters for debt rais- 
ing lies in the fact that they have been used twice, 
to the writer’s knowledge, and each time with 
success. 

The letters were originally a part of a campaign 
in the First Presbyterian Church, Independence, 
Towa. They were published in Church Manage- 


Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 249 





ment. From that magazine officers of St. Mat- 
thew’s Methodist Episcopal Church of Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania, took them, changing them just 
enough for their purpose. The church sought to 
raise a debt of $2,500. There were four letters in 
the original series. They sent out three and the 
returns were so large that the fourth was not 
mailed. The debt was paid and a balance of $2,500 
left in the hands of the committee. 


Letter No. I 
Sr. Mattuew’s Meruopist EpiscopAL CHURCH 
53rd and Chestnut Streets 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
October 8, 1925. 


Dear Member: 


This is an important letter. It is written to you personally. 
It had to be duplicated because it is impossible for me to 
write several hundred letters by hand. 


This is the message that I want to bring. Please read it 
carefully. 


For several years you know a debt has hung over your 
Church, but we expect it to be cleared next month. During 
the past year, however, in order to meet the debt we have 
trimmed very closely and have not done some of the things 
that should have been done to keep the property in bang-up 
condition, and so our repair bill for the coming year is going 
to be high. Then the interest and taxes on the parsonage 
must be paid. Altogether the Board of Trustees estimate 
that we must spend $2,500.00 over and above the regular 
running expenses during the coming twelve months. 


On the fifteenth of November we begin the great series of 
services leading up to Anniversary Sunday, and we want 
to go into that week with the full knowledge that the future 
is provided for. A public appeal for funds will NOT be 
made on Anniversary Sunday as has been the custom in 
the past. The Trustees believe, and I agree with them, that 
there are seventy-two people in this Church who in response 


250 Church Administration 





to this letter will give $35.00 each to this fund that the 
Trustees must have. Can we count on you for that amount? 


Just fill out the enclosed card and mail it or drop it in the 
contribution box at the Church door. You have several 
months in which to pay the amount. 


One word more. No house-to-house canvass will be made, 
no public collection will be taken, no one will call on you 
personally. I have been Pastor of this Church for almost 
four years. In that time you have never failed—you will 
not fail this time, I am_sure. 


Sincerely, your Pastor, 


Letter No. 2 


St. Matruew’s Mernopist EpiscopaL CHURCH 
53rd and Chestnut Streets 
Philadelphia, Pa. 


October 21, 1925. 
Dear Member: 


How beautiful is the story of the three Wise Men who came 
to the infant Jesus and “offered unto him gifts, gold and 
frankincense and myrrh.” 


Notice that the FIRST gift was gold! Frankincense (con- 
secration) and myrrh (service) were precious, of course. 
But what the poverty-stricken parents of Jesus needed— 
and needed desperately—just then was gold. 


All our talk of devotion to God and willingness to work 
for him is worth little, if we are not willing, in times of 
need, to bring the gift of gold. 


And when we bring this gift of gold to the Church, the one 
divinely organized institution in this world, we give it to 
the Christ-Child just as truly as the Wise Men did. 


Your Church needs a gift of gold. Many responded to my 
last letter, but not enough to reach our objective. We need 
many more people to subscribe $35.00 each. We are going 
to burn the mortgage on the Church next month, but this 


Uncle Sam as the Minister’s Assistant 251 





$2,500.00 is needed to insure the successful maintenance of 
the Church property during the next year. It will be used 
entirely for taxes, insurance and repairs. 


AND REMEMBER— 


There will be no drive for this money, no personal solicita- 
tion. It is just a matter for you to decide as you read this 
letter in the privacy of your home. 


“Christ also loved the Church and gave himself up for it” 
(Eph. v. 25). Someway I cannot get away from the thought 
of that verse, Christ giving his life for the Church. 


“T gave my life for thee; 
What hast thou given for me?” 


And what have I done for Him? Have I ever made any 
real sacrifice? It is a heart-searching thought. Will you 
not think this matter over prayerfully, and fill out the 
enclosed card at once? 


Sincerely, your Pastor, 


Letter No. 3 


St. MatrHew’s MetuHopist EpiscopaL CHURCH 
53rd and Chestnut Streets 
Philadelphia, Pa. 


November 4, 1925. 


IF YOU CAN’T GIVE $35.00—GIVE WHAT 
YOU CAN 


Dear Member: 


The day of our 37th anniversary is drawing near. What 
kind of an occasion will it be? There are two phases to 
an anniversary—first, commemorating the achievements of 
the past. We shall be happy to do that. Second—looking 
forward to the future as a time of still greater accom- 
plishment. 


Are we going to look forward with the knowledge that a 
debt will hang over us if we do not raise this $2,500.00? 


asy Church Administration 








Is there anything about a debt to make one enthusiastic ? 
Are YOU willing to do your share to help us provide for 
the future and to wipe the slate clean? 


The Trustees meet on next Monday night and at that time 
they will hear the report as to the result of this canvass. 
What will that report be? Many people have said to me, 
“I want to give, but I can’t give $35.00.” If you can’t give 
$35.00, give what you can, but if possible, keep the contri- 
bution above $10.00. We ought to get a lot of $20.00 and 
$25.00 contributions in response to this letter. It doesn’t 
make any difference what you give—just give as much as 
you can and send your card in right away. 


Let me tell you again just what this $2,500.00 is needed for. 
There are many repairs that must be made to the church 
property—not improvements, mind you—but repairs; then 
the interest on the parsonage mortgage must be paid, taxes 
must be paid, and insurance must be paid. I think the 
Trustees have been conservative when they have asked for 
only $2,500.00. 


Remember you have eight months to pay the amount in, and 
if anything should transpire in that time that would make 
it impossible for you to pay it, your obligation is cancelled. 


Finally, I want to remind you that no member-to-member 
canvass will be made for this money—no one will call upon 
you in your home or office; the matter will not be brought 
up at church service, for certainly we are not going to mar 
our Anniversary Service by pleading for money publicly. 


It has been no easy task for me to sign my name to 1,500 
letters, for us to address 1,500 envelopes, and then fold and 
seal the letters. Yet this has been done, in addition to my 
regular work and the regular work of the men who have 
helped me. It has been done, and it has been done gladly. 
With all of our hearts we want to see this money raised. 


With the hope and prayer in my heart that it will be done 
before next Monday night, I am 


Your fellow-worker, 





Part V-: Administrative Detail 





CHAPTER 14 
THE CHURCH DOLLAR 


Tue dollar has played a mighty big place in 
modern parish administration. Sometimes it has 
played too big a part. Crowded by economic 
pressure, the anxiety of the church to get the neces- 
sary dollars has led to an overemphasis of the 
financial to the detriment of the spiritual values of 
the Church. The cure for this condition is not 
found in ignoring the financial side, but in the 
honest consideration of its demands, and the putting 
of it in the place it belongs. Nothing hurts a church 
as much as the constant clamoring for money. All 
churches must have the cash to meet their obliga- 
tions but the wise church will adopt a method of 
caring for its temporal affairs which will not seri- 
ously interfere with its spiritual program. 


BUDGETING A CHURCH 


Probably the first step toward the solution is the 
making of a proper budget. This is a comparatively 
simple matter. It merely means the consideration 
of the expenses of the church for the next year, 
based upon the income which may be expected. 
Even with a very small church budgeting is to be 
recommended. With the large churches it is a 
necessity. Assume, for example, that a committee 
has been appointed to sess out a budget for the 

29 


256 Church Administration 








next year. It will go at its work something like 
this. 

From the treasurer’s books the committee will 
know fairly accurately the expense of each item. 


Expense last year (learned To be expended for next 
from the treasurer’s book): year: 

Minister’s salary ..... $2,500 Minister’s salary ....$2,750 
Coal, Gas, Electricity. 500 Coal, Gas, Electricity. 500 
MUSIC oe chy Glew Macca wo eee *500 MisiC ON ano eee 500 ° 
mnsurance |. ae ow 150 Trsurdncé AA, oe lech eee 150 
Printing and Postage, Printing and Postage, 

tk RR EA APMED Ri 300 Sone DUB EAP WRI Rf, 300 


Now this is a very simple thing to do in the 
average church. In the items above the pastor is 
given an increase of $250. The committee should 
have. some reason for believing that the increase 
ought to be given and that the congregation would 
approve it. Budgeting is not merely a matter of 
putting figures on paper. It consists in matching 
expenses with resources. 


FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 


Waterloo, Iowa 


PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 1926 


This is merely a “Proposed Budget.” It represents what the 
Trustees and Finance Committee regards as necessary to properly 
carry on our work during the coming year. If the full amount is 
pledged this Budget will be accepted. If the pledges do not equal 
this amount this Budget will be revised. 


The Church Dollar 257 








PeOter Se onlays MT ik atau rte bar d Meter euley oe $5,000 
meceetary ands parish Visitors «3; cca es ly a ke we een areas 1,200 
MERMAID ody ale bE & soe B oiy Gel dls Sd Sew ates blenta Batery ok hoe oe 780 
RPATIR a, re ee a Oe Ch nated cite ae 2s bi alg os epee Dees 1,300 
Weekly Bulletin 
Printing~ Monthly Pastoral Teter No Whe ates Maree ae 400 
Special Correspondence J 
BGI E yer cet. dls, we RA Papert oe Loe atm ae 250 
eA SOS Sag OA a a eh een UF 300 
FS) LER a Ae Ce Eh seep Sele See Rape et mn Gen BNE ie ¥ 7% 448 550 
Mester Gas. Power sPhones) liehtle. we Vial ie Yo 250 
Me UCed ertie nt 20) Wha GUA daie wg AN ate ale tae A te 250 
Church School and Young People’s Work ............... 500 
State and District Conventions, expenses and dues ........ 100 
3—Interest and Amortization of Debt ...........cc8+ucenaen 1,500 
Wee ICT AIS TAT. a tile cist cet ida ce tees 4 hoe oh eer. Toe 100 
MONIC CS IP he ete ee Ne wa ee ea ae deat ae atl 2,500 
$15,080 


1—Includes Organist, Quartette and Sheet Music. 

2—Includes new Typewriter and Duplicator. If these are procured 
the printing bill will be substantially decreased. 

3—Money has been obtained at the banks to pay for extensive re- 
able on the building and the installation of a new heating 
plant. 


(A typical plan of a church on a single budget. Individuals make 
but one pledge which covers both local expense and benevolences.) 


More and more there is a need of churches 
making out suitable budgets for their benevolent 
funds. Many churches will plan most carefully on 
their own expenses and let mere chance take care 
of the missionary moneys. This nearly always re- 
sults in an indifference to the requirements of the 
missionary demands on the church. If the officials 
treat it seriously enough to make it an item for the 
budget a step has been taken toward recognizing 
the responsibility to the denomination. 

One mistake which is oftentimes made is the fail- 
ure to allow for a shrinkage in the pledges which 
may be made for the new year. This will vary with 


258 Church Administration 





different types of churches but every church can 
count on a falling off. If you will go over your 
treasurer’s books for some years past I think you 
will find that the percentage each year is about the 
same. 

When the budget is made it must be tested beside 
the expected income. This may be in the form 
of definite pledges, income from invested funds, 
rentals, etc., or it may merely be the expectation 
based on the receipts of previous years. If the 
anticipated income covers the budget everything is 
fine. If there is a difference immediately some ef- 
fort must be made to find new resources. In case 
of a failure to do this the logical thing is to cut 
the budget. 


Sources of Income 


The sources of income of the churches are many. 
Some have invested funds and rentals. Others de- 
pend upon pew rentals, pledges from members, free- 
will offerings, public solicitations. And there are 
many churches which still look for revenue from 
fairs, entertainments, etc., though their number is 
happily declining. 

Some churches still have the pew rental system. 
They are tied by tradition so that they do not feel — 
free to change to a more up-to-date plan. ‘There 
are serious objections to such a system. The most 
serious is that it makes the church a rather exclusive 
institution in which strangers do not feel welcome. 
Proponents of the plan will point out, however, that 
it conserves the idea of a family pew which has been 
lost out of those churches which have adopted the 
free pew system. 


The Church Dollar 259 





To the mind of the writer the fairest plan of 
church finance is by means of contribution made by 
the members of the congregation from their in- 
comes accordingly as God has prospered them. This 
plan supposes a Christian stewardship and a system 
of pledges and payments. It supplants the hap- 
hazard and emotional giving with a plan which pro- 
vides for regular contributions at stated periods. 

One of the high points in the development of 
modern church finance was the introduction of the 
weekly contribution envelope. This weekly oppor- 
tunity for consistent giving revolutionized church 
finance. Some will remember the days of the sub- 
scription paper. When money was needed some one 
went around with a paper for members to sign, 
giving the amounts they thought wise. In that day 
donation parties were also in vogue. I can remem- 
ber as a boy seeing farmers bring potatoes and 
apples to the parsonage, asking that they be credited 
on salary. The weekly envelope sealed the doom 
of these things. 

But after the weekly envelope came into vogue it 
was necessary to perfect some way of securing the 
largest number of pledges to cover the budget. This 
resulted in the Every-member Canvass, another 
high point in the story of modern church finance. 


Set Up for the Every-member Canvass 


The genius of this plan is to have every member 
reached with an invitation to make an honest pledge 
for church support. It is usually most effective 
when sufficient canvassers are enrolled to allow the 
work to be done on one day. The important steps 
in the canvass may be given as shown on p. 260. 


260 Church Administration 
ee 

1. The selection of a competent person of 
committee to head up the canvass. 

2. The setting of the day. 

3. The selection and call of the canvassers. 

4. The instruction of the congregation as to 
the budget. 

s. The instruction of the canvassers in the 
budget and also as to their duties. 

6. The carefulanalysis of the congregation as 
to its contributions. Every canvasser should 
know just what the prospect gave last year. 

7, The letter to the congregation announcing 
the date of the canvass and asking each one to be 
home that day. 

8 The canvass, preferably on a Sunday, when 
the men may be consecrated for their task at the 
morning service and meet at a supper in the eve- 
ning to tabulate the results. 

The follow-up of those persons who are not 
reached on the day of the canvass. 


This method has proven very effective and large 
numbers of churches have adopted the plan of hav- 
ing such a systematic canvass made annually. 


The Honor System in Church Finance 


We have got to face the fact, however, that there 
is a very definite reaction to-day against the cam- 
paign idea. It has had its day. Laymen have had 
their fill of “canvassing.” The church has learned 
a great deal during the period. There has been an 
advance in methods of stewardship. The per capita 
amount of contribution has increased. But new 
ways of securing pledges are necessary. 


— 


The Church Dollar 261 


I SAID, THEY SAID 


I said to the Church Session,—‘“I wonder if our people 
would codperate in a plan which J have in mind?” 


They said,—“They will do anything you ask them to which 
is at all reasonable.” 


I said—‘“I have been thinking that it would be a fine thing 
to have them bring their pledges to the church this year instead 
of sending canvassers out for them. Do you think they would 
do that?” 


They said,—“Try them and see. We think that you will be 
surprised with the response you get.” 


I said—“All right. Then let’s get busy on that plan.” 


——THE PLAN—— 


The Day will be Sunday, March 8th. 
Pledge cards for 1925-26 will be distributed to all members 
and contributors to the church in advance. 


A Chest (Joash’s Chest) will be provided in the front of 
the church for the pledge cards. 

These pledges will be presented at both services. 

Families which present pledges from every member of 
confirmation age and over will be known as 100 per cent 
families and their names will be published in the bulletin 
the following Sunday. 

Those who cannot attend may send their pledges and be 
counted as present. 

A canvass of those who do not present their pledges on 
March 8th will be made the following Sunday. 


Remember “1925 Means Loyalty.” 


William H. Leach 





Introducing the Idea of a Joash’s Chest. 


262 Church Administration 


It is in this period that there are coming into 
vogue plans which are more or less similar but 
which we may designate as the Honor System. In 
reality it includes a plan of much more ancient 
origin which has been time and time again effec- 
tively used. It is called “Joash’s Chest.” This 
plan has as a foundation the Bible account of the 
days of Joash when a great chest was placed in a 
conspicuous position to receive the contributions of 
the penitent Israelites for the restoration of the 
Temple. In its modern version the chest is placed 
in a conspicuous place in the church and the mem- 
bers drop their offerings or gifts into it. 

The Honor System makes use of this chest but 
adds to it a very effective mail scheme. Letters 
with strong selling power are mailed to the members 
asking that they bring their pledges on a certain 
date. We must recognize that in the every-member 
canvass many men go out who are better walkers 
than they are salesmen and as the result they do not 
bring in 100 per cent. A good selling campaign by 
mail may even surpass the results accomplished by 
the personal workers. 

Here is what the Rev. R. Murphy Williams of 
the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Greens- 
boro, North Carolina, has to say of this plan: 


“For a number of years I tried to get our deacons 
to adopt the ‘Honor System’ in raising the budget 
of the Church of the Covenant, but they felt that the 
people would not respond. The middle of February, 
1924, I again asked that they let us try it and they 
consented. So we wrote about it in the bulletin, I 
proclaimed it from the pulpit, a number of our mem- 
bers commended it, we sent letters explaining it 


The Church Dollar 263 








and requested the membership to come to the church 
on the afternoon set and subscribe the amount they 
wanted to give for local church support and the 
benevolent causes during the year 1924-1925. 

“Some were skeptical in regard to the plan, but 
many were surprised and all were delighted at the 
hearty response of our people, and some outside 
friends who were interested in the church made sub- 
scriptions. A few reduced their former subscrip- 
tions, but a greater number increased theirs; and, 
by far, it was the most satisfactory method we have 
tried. 

“There were some who did not come to the church 
at the time we suggested. To those who did not 
come, we wrote a letter enclosing a subscription 
card, asking that they send in their pledge by a 
certain date. In this manner we secured contribu- 
tions from a larger per cent of our people than ever 
before.” 


Using the Mail for Special Campaigns 


Direct mail publicity is well adapted for special 
money-raising campaigns. A good sales letter ought 
to do more for the church than a poor personal 
salesman. In some of the larger cities a personal 
canvass cannot be made without a considerable loss 
of energy and time. The mail is quick, direct and 
effective. It is not an easy matter to produce the 
right kind of letters. When the success of the cam- 
paign depends upon a letter or two it would be wise 
to prepare them carefully and to make every pos- 
sible test of their pulling power. The letters at the 
close of Chapter 13 and the one given here are let- 
ters which have shown their selling value. 


264 Church Administration 





This letter, used by the Plymouth Congregational 
Church, Newark, Ohio, in connection with its every- 
member canvass, got results. 


To You 
From Chas. R. Foote: 


Why is it that some men make a success of everything 
they undertake while others of equal intelligence and in- 
dustry only just get by? One uses established business prac- 
tices, the other does not. 

Good methods are just as important in conducting the 
business affairs of a church as they are of a bank. It has 
been proven by all successful churches that the way to handle 
church finances is to figure out in advance the fixed expenses 
for the next year. That means, in other words, the ex- 
penses that must be paid whether you go to church or not. 
The total amount of these expenses is called the budget. 
The membership of the church is then analyzed by a com- 
mittee and an effort is made to secure pledges to cover the 
estimates and thus care for the budget. You will admit 
that this is a good business plan. 

The advantages of this plan are as important to the con- 
tributors as they are to the church. The contributors dis- 
charge their obligations to the church in small weekly pay- 
ments. The church knows what to expect and can pay its 
bills promptly. It eliminates repeated calls for money. 
Each one knows what is expected and can prepare accord- 
ingly. It prevents many good, self-respecting people from 
becoming objects of charity. Many persons who would be 
offended if their neighbors should offer to pay their grocery 
bills for them, permit others to carry their church obliga- 
tion for them. 

Sunday afternoon, December 7, you will be given an 
opportunity to say what proportion of the budget for 1925 
for Plymouth Church you feel it your duty to assume. 


Yours truly, 
CHAS; RR: HOG Te 
Director Every-Member Canvass. 


Everybody attend the Pot Luck Dinner, 6:30, December 
ete ae 


The Church Dollar 265 


MONEY FOR NEW BUILDINGS 


When a church has been going quietly along pay- 
ing its bills it oftentimes will be stunned into in- 
activity by the very thought of raising large sums 
of money for building and extension purposes. 
On the other hand, when the church has accepted 
the challenge it has found that at its very door are 
resources it never dreamed of. But the raising of 
a large sum for extension purposes is a different 
matter from raising the annual budget. 

One safe rule to follow is that no campaign for 
funds for a new building should take place until it 
has been definitely decided that the program will be 
put across. We all know of churches which have 
had building funds which have accumulated through 
the years. It is possible for such a fund to be de- 
veloped. But usually it is a small and insignificant 
amount compared with what will actually be needed. 
When a new building is finally decided upon then 
is the time to go ahead. Have the cost analyzed. 
Have an architect employed and the plans drawn. 
They make the best kind of publicity. Then, when 
it has been definitely decided, go ahead to raise the 
money. 

There are some churches which will be able to 
respond to the appeal with cash. Ministers of such 
churches ought to appreciate their good luck. Most 
of the churches will consider the work well done if 
they can get good pledges to cover the estimate 
cost. Many have found the work easier by spread- 
ing the period of the payments over several years. 
Thus if the period is five years, a pledge for five 
hundred dollars would mean one hundred a year or 
less than $2.00 per week, Five years, however, is 


266 Church Administration 





too long a period. Practice has shown that three 
years is the best period for the pledges. 

The church can provide methods of payment 
suitable to the financial exigencies of the congrega- 
tion. If necessary, the payments may be made in 
weekly installments. Some churches have had one 
side of their duplex envelopes printed for this pur- 
pose. Others will prefer the monthly or the quar- 
terly payments. No matter what method is adopted 
there should be a very accurate bookkeeping system 
to keep track of the pledges and to send receipts. 
It is usually wise to have a separate secretary and 
treasurer for this fund, and a separate bank account 
is absolutely necessary. 

There will be churches which will not feel able 
to finance their projects even under this method. 
If it is at all possible for the congregation to meet 
its own needs without making a general appeal, it 
should feel the obligation to do so. But undoubt- 
edly occasions arise when a wider or a different 
appeal must be made to put the program across. 
Here are some unique plans which help in emergen- 
cies of this nature. 


Redeemable Certificates of Indebtedness 


As far as we know this plan originated with the ~ 
Evangelical Lutheran Hephatha Church of Muil- 
waukee, Wisconsin. It provides for a plan whereby 
a church may be built “without cost.” The mem- 
bers lend the money for which they receive certifi- 
cates of indebtedness to be redeemed at double face 
value in twenty years. (See page 267.) 

In order to mature these certificates the congre- 
gation, each month for twenty years, put into a 


The Church Dollar 267 
ee 
redemption fund one-half of one per cent of the 
value of certificates outstanding. If the total issue 
were twenty thousand dollars, this would mean fifty 
dollars per month. To administer this fund a spe- 
cial board is selected, which will invest the money 
in securities paying not less than five per cent in- 
terest. All interest is reinvested with the other 
moneys. 


{ No.503 } 
Evangelical Lutheran Gephatha Congregation 


A WISCONSIN CORPORATION 
@ertificate of Indebteduras 
SERIES D 


tion of Milwaukee, 
9........, the sum of 


Hephatha Congregation 


5 a GF aa rOhE EEN an ss 


Pep iawstesssesecy, 9 Oansors 


EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN HEP 


qoccacqectnsstcsisncdasecete cahsi essen san erste seep rzeshesseeeahe ens Now AFOeOe enon Sema nes Nene see 





The price of the certificates is kept to small de- 
nominations so that all may feel free to invest. H 
it is an added inducement, they may be sold on the 
installment plan. While, in reality, the members 
redeem their own certificates, the plan promotes 
loyalty and sustains the morale during the twenty 
years. A little figuring will show that the amount 
paid into the treasury will not alone meet the in- 
debtedness but will return a nice bonus to the 
treasury. | 

The Milwaukee church has made provision for 


268 Church Administration 





the certificates to have a loan value after three 
years. Provision is also made for an earlier 
maturity at five per cent interest if the board de- 
sires it. ‘The board is likewise instructed to give 
church members preference in loans on real estate, 
all loans being approved by the attorney. This plan 
with its many variations may be used by churches 
seeking an easy yet tried way of promoting their 
building enterprises. 


Selling Bonds 


Christian F. Reisner in financing the Broadway 
Temple of New York resorted to a system of selling 
bonds. The cost of the building is estimated at 
between four and five millions of dollars. Of this 
amount as much is secured on a first mortgage as 
is possible. The balance has been secured by sell- 
ing five per cent bonds. It is planned to pay the 
interest and the principal on these bonds from the 
earnings of the building. The great building will 
be a business block, apartment house, restaurant, 
gymnasium, and will have other features. These 
many things will bring in revenue. From the earn- 
ings the bond charges will be met. This plan has 
the sanction of sound financiers in New York and 
the issue has been absorbed. While this plan ap- 
plies in particular to a church with a business in- 
come, variations of the scheme will be of assistance 
to other churches. 


NECESSITY FOR A BACKGROUND OF STEWARDSHIP 


No matter what plan for raising the pledges may 
be used permanent results must depend upon the 


The Church Dollar 269 





persistent education in the principles of Christian 
stewardship through sermons, special classes and 
Sunday school curriculum. Until the Christian 
sees the obligation of dividing his wealth with God 
and humanity any method, however perfect in it- 
self, will not get results. 

Some churches have sought to persuade their 
members to become tithers. Where this plan has 
been successful startling results have been secured. 
A group of tithers can revolutionize any church. 
Money literally pours in to meet the expenses. 
Canvasses and special appeals are not necessary. 

Others have sought the method of stewardship 
training without emphasizing the necessity of the 
tenth. It is hardly within the province of this book 
to pass on the respective merits of these two plans. 
Sufficient to say that either one is a splendid ad- 
vancement over the idea that the church must go 
to its members and beg a pittance to carry on its 
work. Any plan which shows the individual re- 
sponsibility to his church and his God is worth 
while. 


FOR RAPID CALCULATION 


The table on page 270 provides for the rapid 
calculation of the weekly pledges. It is easy to tell 
just what a weekly pledge will amount to for the 
month, quarter or the year. 


270 Church Administration 


SS RL SS eee eae, 





PLEDGE MULTIPLICATION TABLE 


Showing the amount of any pledge for a week, 
a month, a quarter or a year. 





Amount For one For a 


of weekly Month of Month of quarter of year of 
pledge 4 Sundays 5 Sundays 13 Sundays 52 Sundays 
.05 .20 eo .65 2.60 
10 -40 90 1.30 5.20 
a Bc .60 Wy fee 1.95 7.80 
-20 .80 ° 1.00 2.60 10.40 
2D 1.00 T.25 Bae 13.00 
.30 1.20 1.50 3.90 15.60 
330 1.40 1.75 4.55 18.20 
40 1.60 2.00 5.20 20.80 
90 2.00 2.90 6.50 26.00 
.60 2.40 3.00 7.80 31.20 
75 3.00 3.75 9.75 39.00 
85 3.40 4.25 11.05 44.20 
1.00 4.00 5.00 13.00 52.00 
1.25 5.00 6.25 16.25 65.00 
1.50 6.00 7.50 19.50 78.00 
Dy as" 7.00 8.75 Peo be 91.00 
2.00 8.00 10.00 26.00 104.00 
2.50 10.00 12.50 32.50 130.00 


3.00 12.00 15.00 39.00 156.00 
4.00 16.00 20.00 52.00 208.00 
9.00 20.00 25.00 65.00 260.00 
pe 


Suggested by the Rev. Henry J. Simpson, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Copyrighted 1920 by Duplex—Richmond, Va. 


CHAPTER 15 
SPENDING AND ACCOUNTING 


CoMMON opinion would have it that one thing 
church officers have no need for training in is the 
spending of money. Their difficulty is in getting 
the money, not in spending it. Yet the mistakes 
which good-intentioned men have made in the spend- 
ing of money for church purposes is a sad tale. 
Funds raised for definite purposes have been spent 
for emergencies in another field; the pastor has 
gone without his salary that the coal dealer might 
be paid, and bills have been allowed to lag until the 
church cannot take advantage of the usual trade 
discount. 

The goal of the church, financially, would be to 
have its income pouring in regularly and to meet 
all of its bills in the same way. To do this the 
church must recognize the responsibility of steward- 
ship as does the individual. It owes to the contribu- 
tor a system which will not alone give him adequate 
and honest statements of his own account, but 
which will make him feel that the whole organiza- 
tion is financially stable. 

Let us follow the money from the plate on which 
it is deposited through the various accounting pro- 
cesses until it is finally spent for its value in service 
or trade. In the average church the money is now 
placed on the collection plates in envelopes which 
designate it for some definite fund and in addition 
there is also the RS Ue ea which is 


272 Church Administration 


SE SE 





not designated for any particular purpose. The 
first thing to do is to have the money correctly 
counted. 

In some churches the custom prevails of turning 
the collection over to the treasurer who counts it 
and deposits it in the bank. Probably not one 
church treasurer in a thousand is dishonest but this 
plan makes bookkeeping very difficult, for there is 
no way to check up against his figures. There 
should be somewhere another statement of the 
offerings. Such a statement is provided when there 
is a financial secretary who keeps the record of the 
offerings and in turn turns the money over to the 
treasurer, for which he gives his receipt. 


IMPORTANCE OF A FINANCIAL SECRETARY 


Let us assume that the financial secretary re- 
ceives the offering. He takes the money from the 
envelopes, noting on each one the amount which is 
found therein. This is not always the amount 
which the contributor thinks he put in. When the 
envelopes are emptied and the money counted there 
will be an exact balance between the amount cred- 
ited to the envelopes and the cash. This sounds 
like a simple matter, but it is not. It is a means 
of conflict in many churches. Assume that the 
plates contain five hundred two-pocket envelopes, 
giving a possibility of one thousand distinct contri- 
butions. Many of these contain small coins. It 1s 
a mighty easy matter to find your balance out sey- 
eral dollars. A few dollars is not much in the course 
of the year but if some sensitive member finds that 
he is credited with a few dollars less than he really 
gave it may be a very serious matter. 


Spending and Accounting 273 





But assuming that the balance is correct, the 
financial secretary turns the money over to the 
treasurer and he in turn gives his receipt for it. 


June 19, 1925. 
CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 


Received of Horace Wiley, financial secretary, offerings of 
to-day 


General Expense 


Benevolent 


$194.05 


WILLIAM GREELY, Treasurer. 





A Form of Receipt. 


When this system is used it is a simple matter 
at the end of a year to give an accounting of the 
moneys received. It implies that all of the contri- 
butions have come through the hands of the finan- 
cial secretary. The entire official board of the 
church should take pains to see that this rule is lived 
up to. There are always contributions which come 
in other ways. There are checks and returns from 
invested funds. These should go to the financial 
secretary and be entered before they are passed on 
to the treasurer. Only in this way can the matter 
be kept orderly. Any business man knows the 
necessity of all funds going through the accounting 
office before they are deposited. The church must 
profit by this business experience. 


274. Church Administration 


— 





A COMMITTEE FOR COUNTING THE MONEY 


I would suggest here a plan which we used in 
one of my churches where we had had difficulty in 
securing the proper accounting. We were con- 
tinually finding a discrepancy between the statement 
of the financial secretary and that of the treasurer. 
The latter complained oftentimes that the money 
when counted did not balance with the receipt he 
signed. To meet the situation a committee from the 
trustees decided to count the money at the close of 
each service. A room in the church was given them 
for the purpose. There were usually several men 
present and in this way an accurate account was 
assured. They kept a third record, which remained 
always in the church office and was available for 
reference. 


WHOLE-TIME WORKER ASSUMES CHARGE 


When a church adds a whole-time worker as the 
pastor’s assistant many times this financial account- 
ing is placed entirely within the church office. This 
usually results in a more reliable system but it by 
no means eliminates all the difficulties. Many a 
church secretary has found that her troubles center 
more or less around the difficulties of accounting 
for the small pledges which are being paid weekly 
into the treasury of the church. 


SYSTEMS OF ACCOUNTING 


We all assume without any argument the re- 
sponsibility of recognizing the contributions which 
come to the church. When the money comes in 
large sums the best way may be to send a special 


Spending and Accounting 275 








receipt. Unexpected gifts or unusual gifts should 
be recognized by a personal letter from the min- 
ister. The contributions of the many through the 
weekly envelopes are acknowledged by quarterly 
statements showing the amount of the pledge for 
the quarter and the amount which has actually been 
paid. 

We show here two ideas of bookkeeping, one 
based on a book and the other on the visible card 
system. There are advantages to both systems. 


The Kardex Visible Record System 


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Here in a compact and visible form we have the name and address 
of the pledger, the amount of his pledge, the payments week by week, 
the balance due or credit from the preceding quarter and a similar 
statement for the current quarter. 


276 Church Administration 





The record card is printed in duplicate, with a 
perforated line between the two sections of the card. 
A piece of machine carbon is inserted, and the data 
regarding the amount of the weekly pledge, name, 
address and number of the pledge is filled in on the 
typewriter. The machine carbon is removed and 
replaced by a good quality of pencil carbon. The 












































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card record is then ready for its permanent place — 
in the cabinet. Weekly entries are made with in- 

delible pencil, which makes a clear impression on 

the duplicate. It is never necessary to remove an 

active card from the cabinet. 

At the end of the quarter the debit or credit bal- 
ance of the member’s account is placed at the bottom 
of the card. The original portion of the card is 
then torn off and mailed to the pledger, usually with 


Spending and Accounting 277 





a letter urging the delinquent to pay up to date. 
(See p. 276.) The carbon copy of the record is kept 
in the cabinet for reference. 


TYPES OF QUARTERLY REPORT CARDS 


The plan which originated in the First Presby- 
terian Church of Warren, Pennsylvania, provides 
for a book in which the pages are bound in dupli- 


TREASURER’S REPORT 
Quarter ending. 


M. 
Your church subscription stands as follows: 
Actually Balance dre 
Paid on quarter 


On hand at first of quarter, . A - $ 
Collections during quarter, é : - Le ee Be eiaeas 
Totals, ‘ ° : $... 
Disbursements during quarter, 4 + ssaaipinnsbeliaieniai 
Balance, : : A $ 
Amount of unpaid pledges, « ‘ 5 : ° $ 
Treasurer 
Nore—If your subectiption is in arrears, it is hoped you will make a special effort to balance your accountduring 
the next quarter. Members should constantly bear in mind,that the church is their.church, that its obligations are 
their obligations, and that they individually ae weil as collectively are responaible for its standing in the community. 


**Better it is that thou shouldest not vow, than.that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” 


Ol PLEX-RICHMOND, VA. FORM NO. ® 





This form provides for a quarterly statement to each contributor 
giving the financial condition of the church. 


cate, one sheet white and one yellow. The white 
sheets are perforated so that the quarterly state- 
ment may be torn out and mailed to contributors, 
the yellow sheet remaining and forming the perma- 
nent record. Weare reproducing the form in which 


the report goes out. 


278 Church Administration 














NAME 


ADDRESS 

















ENVELOPE BENEVOLENCE 


NO. 


CURRENT EXPENSE 









PLEDGE 
PER WEEK 


PLEDGE 


PAID EACH 
BUNDAY 


ist 
2ND 
SRD 


4TH 


rence | | TC CS | LR 


STH 


TOTAL 
MONTH 


TOTAL CURRENT BENEVO- 
QUARTER EXPENSE LENCE 


SUMMARY-—PLEASE KEEP THIS FOR YOUR RECORD 

































CURRENT 
EXPENSE 


BENEVO- 
LENCE 






AMOUNT ACCRUED ON YOUR 
PLEDGE THIS QUARTER, 





SUNDAYS 


AMOUNT PAID THIS QUARTER 
SHOWN ABOVE 


BALANCE FOR DUE 
THIS QUARTER OVERPAID 


a TS, 


FROM YOUR DUE 
LAST STATEMENT OVERPAID 











TOTAL EACH TAMU ES 
ACCOUNT NOW OVERPAID 


AMOUNT FOR DUE DUE ie 
soTH accounts NO OVERPAID Re S| 


“Render unto God that which is God’s’’ 













Spending and Accounting 279 


THE BOOK SYSTEM 


This plan of church accounting has been brought 
to perfection by the Duplex Envelope Company, 
Richmond, Virginia, specialists in church finance 
and originators of the duplex envelope. Their plan 
provides a ledger for the financial records, checking 
the contributions each Sunday. The form repro- 
duced on page 276 is from the “D. E.” Ideal Record 
Form, which enables one treasurer to keep the ac- 
count of contributions to both current expense and 
benevolences. 


PAYMENTS 


All payments made by the church will be made 
by check. The only exception there could be to this 
would be in the instance of petty cash payments for 
which money may be kept in the church office. But 
any item of more than one dollar should be paid 
only by check, and the check issued only after an 
order has been drawn for its payment. This may 
appear absurd to those churches where the treasurer 
has received and paid all bills as he has had the 
money, but there is plenty of reason for the rule. 

There is altogether too much of a tendency on 
the part of churches to let the treasurer not only 
pay the bills but also find a way to pay them. The 
official board needs to have brought to -its atten- 
tion the joint obligation for the financial welfare 
of the church. For this reason the president of 
the board together with the treasurer should issue 
the orders to the treasurer. It might appear as a 
clumsy system when gas and electric bills are to be 
paid. But a little foresight will have everything 


280 Church Administration 








in hand on the first of the month and the officers 
will know that all of the bills are discounted. 
Sometimes it may seem wise for the minister to 
sign the order. We must get away from the idea 
that the pastor should not be bothered about finan- 
















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SEPTEMBER 29th, 1922 
*¢THE TREASURER FINDS THIS THE QUICKEST METHOD OF INFORMING ALL SUBSCRIBERS 
TO OPEN THEIR POCKETS OR CHECK BOOKS AND FORWARD TO HIM AT ONCE BY MAIL OR 
BRING TO THE CHURCH NEXT SUNDAY ALL PAYMENTS DUE FOR ARREARS, AND IF NOT ALL, 
THEN THE GREATER PORTION AND IF NOT THAT, THEN AT LEAST SOME OF IT, SO THE 
TRUSTEES CAN MEET THE BILLS FOR COAL, SALARIES AND OTHER VERY URGENT 


NECESSITIES.’’ 





BROADCAST BY HERMAN F. VOSS 


The Duplex Envelope Company should be credited with this 
collection idea. 


cial matters. He ought to know what his church is 
paying for certain things. And he is entitled to the 
satisfaction of knowing when bills are paid. 
Personally I have liked the form of voucher or 
order which is connected with the check. It makes 
it easy for auditors when they do their work at the 
end of the church year. There is a check for each 
order. They are identified by the number, and the 


Spending and Accounting 281 


check is supposed to be issued under the date of 
the order. 


THE DRY PERIODS 


Many churches experience what we may call a 

“dry period” at some time during the year. This 
means that, while they have resources for the year 
which are reasonably sure, in some particular sea- 
son expenditures are greater than the income. This 
is very apt to be true of city churches in the summer 
months and of rural churches before the harvest 
months. In the churches of my boyhood most of 
the year was dry until within a few weeks from 
“Conference.” Then there was a rush to pay up 
all of the bills. The minister, who had received 
scarcely enough to feed his family, found himself 
opulent with several months’ salary. 
_ To-day churches understand that such a period 
is a disgrace. ‘There is one very effective way to 
meet it and that is to borrow from the bank on the 
personal note of the trustees. This they should do 
to keep things normal, just as a business would do 
it to pay its bills. The danger of such a “dry 
period” may be another reason for keeping the 
trustees informed as to the financial obligations of 
the church. We should not encourage churches to 
run into debt thoughtlessly but, when there are 
ample resources to rely on, it is silly not to use 
established business methods to keep things running 
smoothly. 


BONDING THE TREASURER 


It is a simple matter but it pays to take out a bond 
on the treasurer. The cost is very small and it is 


282 Church Administration 





an ordinary business precaution. Very seldom 
does a church treasurer abscond. But that is not 
the point. Besides, there are other ways of losing 
money than through dishonesty. The thing we try 
to do is to have the financial assets of the church 
protected at all times. Once the idea is established, 
even the treasurer will prefer it. If I were a church 
treasurer, I think that I should request that the 
church take such protection. More and more 
churches are doing this. 


DISTRIBUTION OF PRINTED REPORTS 


The church owes it to its contributors to render 
a satisfactory accounting of its stewardship. The 
only efficient way to do this is to have the reports 
audited and then printed for distribution. There 
are two times when the congregation should be 
taken fully into the confidence of the church off- 
cials. One is when the budget is presented. The 
people have a right to know what expenditures are 
planned. And the second time is when an account- 
ing is being made. 

There is another reason for this suggestion. 
Many times an official who likes to keep very much 
to himself can be persuaded to come out into the 
open if he is permitted to sign his name to a printed 
report. I healed a very serious rupture in one of 
my churches by introducing this plan. The treas- 
urer had never made a report and never intended 
to. But when I explained the idea of having it 
printed with his name as treasurer and rather 
widely distributed, we gained our point and also 
kept the loyalty of the man. 


CHAPTER 16 
EFFICIENCY MACHINES 


THE growing executive emphasis places upon the 
ministry the task of constructing an executive office 
where the details of parish administration may be 
attended to. There is nothing unique or new in the 
various items which are considered in this chapter. 
It is rather an effort to estimate the value of the 
various mechanical devices which have found their 
way into the church office. A safe rule to go by 
is to admit nothing until it has shown its value. 
A desk and two buzzing telephones do not add to 
the spiritual resources of any minister. Modern 
devices are not an unmixed blessing. I am inclined 
to think that the conservative layman who objects 
to the innovation of modern business instruments 
may be (unconsciously) on the side of God. But 
those things which will add to the efficiency of the 
minister’s work without monopolizing all of his 
time and energies are to be commended. 

The place to start is the desk. It is a simple rule 
but a good one—that the desk is made to work on, 
not to pile things on. A good executive keeps his 
desk clean. He has ample filing devices to keep 
the many papers cleared away so that he can de- 
vote himself to one thing at a time. The best desk 
is a flat-top one for the reason that it can be kept 
more orderly than the roll-top and does not offer 
the same temptations as a store-all. The old roll- 
top desk with its pigeonholes cannot meet the re- 


quirements of modern filing. 
283 


284 Church Administration 





The best desk is the modern filing desk with suffi- 
cient files for letters. In case the desk is not so 
equipped a drawer file should be provided. This 
file properly indexed will take care of all the letters 
and they can be kept in order so that they may be 
instantly referred to. The minister will learn also 
to keep much more information in this or a second 
file. There are ministers who are blessed with 
helpers who have had sufficient secretarial training 
to build a system and put themselves in it. Most 
of us have to build our own system and force our 
helpers to adjust themselves to it. 

The telephone is a blessing and a curse. There 
is nothing so disrupting as to have to break away 
from serious thought to listen to a telephone con- 
versation. The person who calls on the phone has 
an advantage over the individual who taps at your 
door. He breaks in on your privacy and insists that 
you hear his case. You can tell the first man that 
you are busy and he will sit and wait. But the 
second must be heard. When the minister has a 
secretary he can avoid telephone calls. Other min- 
isters have the phone in the house so that the wife 
may receive the calls, letting him have them at the 
luncheon hour. A telephone is necessary; perhaps 
in many churches a telephone system is necessary, 
reaching the different parts of the building, but this 
can be overdone. 

There are certain documents which the minister 
will want ready reference to. His communicant 
list should be in order for any information. There 
are the baptismal and marriage records which he 
will also have at his hand. Then he needs denomi- 
national documents where he can get at them. He 
should have the addresses of publishers of church 


xe 


Efficiency Machines 285 





and Sunday-school literature. There are many 
things of this nature that people will look to him 
for and he needs to have them ready. Committees 
are constantly changing. Each new committee will 
come and ask the same information that the old one 
asked. They will want to know where to send con- 
tributions, where to buy boxes for the Christmas 
candy, and other things. A simple system of keep- 
ing this information will prove valuable. 

Some churches have found it advisable to install 
a small safe or a steel cabinet for the safekeeping 
of records. I went over this matter once with the 
manufacturer of safes and he told me that it was 
quite customary in the Roman church to provide 
for the safekeeping of important records but that 
Protestant churches had not generally adopted the 
plan. In building a new church it would be wise 
to have a vault built in. This can be made of con- 
crete and a safe door purchased to fit it. Some 
good manufacturer should be consulted first as to 
the dimensions of the vault but a good architect 
will presumably take that precaution. 

Another item which will help without confusing 
is a good wall map so that the minister may visual- 
ize his parish. It should be of sufficient size so that 
a black-headed pin may be put in for each family. 
In a glance he can see just the bounds of the parish 
and he will be aided in planning calls, sectional or- 
ganization, or other methods of working. 

With a desk, wall map, file and telephone the office 
is pretty well built up. But the church cannot stop 
here. A letter file implies duplicate letters. This 
means a typewriter. The old excuse of a minister 
for a typewriter was that his penmanship was not 
legible. As an editor who has read hundreds of 


286 Church Administration 


manuscripts of ministers, let me tell you that few 
of them are experts on the typewriter. Most of 
them have tried to pick up the art and are still in 
the process of instruction. 

There may be other reasons for this. It may be 
that the typewriter selected is not suitable. It may 
have been purchased because it was cheap. Rebuilt 
machines are usually good in action and durable. 
I have tried several different makes. In succession 
I have owned five, all of them new when pur- 
chased. For good substantial work there is nothing 
so satisfactory as a full-sized standard commercial 
machine. It will prove satisfactory for making 
carbon copies and address plates, for cutting stencils 
and other kinds of work that is desirable. 

If a typewriter is a good thing for the minister, 
it is doubly essential if a secretary is added to the 
staff. Then he gives dictation and she writes his 
letters. Most of us who use the machine very much 
soon reach a point where we compose our sermons 
on the typewriter much more easily than we do 
with a pen. Then we cannot permit a typist to 
come between us and the article we are writing. 
Most literary men in America reach this point. 
With the fingers on the typewriter the brain begins 
to work. The typewriter then becomes not merely 
a piece of office furniture but a spiritual aid to the | 
minister. We will give it a place in the study and 
the office of every minister. 


PRINTING DEVICES 


Most churches in these days distribute many 
pieces of literature throughout the year. Printing 
is expensive. Many face the question of keeping 


Efficiency Machines 287 


the cost low and still securing the results of good 
printing. The simplest type of duplicating machine 
found is a simple tray filled with a gelatinous sub- 
stance which has the property of holding ink and 
reproducing it on successive sheets of paper applied 
to it. The first operation is to write or typewrite, 
using a special ink. The first sheet is placed on 
the duplicator and pressed softly with the hand. 
After this is removed, it will give a good impression 
to fifty or more copies. This device may be pur- 
chased for a few dollars and fills a place in the 
making of announcements and other details. 

Above this we place the mimeograph, which is 
used with success by so many churches. The prin- 
ciple back of this is reproduction by means of a wax 
stencil upon which an impression has been cut by 
the typewriter. The ribbon is moved aside and the 
keys cut deep into the wax. The stencil is then 
placed on a roll and is inked. Then when an im- 
pression is made on paper the original copy is re- 
produced. A good mimeograph can be purchased, 
fully equipped, for from $50 to $150, and it will 
last for years. ‘There is a device known as a 
“mimeoscope” which makes it possible to sketch 
illustrations from papers by using a stylus on the 
wax stencil. By this process printing done with the 
mimeograph may be as diversified as the individual 
may wish. One need not assume that the use of 
this printing device is limited to letters. Many 
churches issue their church bulletins from _ it. 
Church pledge cards, envelopes, tickets, posters and 
many other kinds of publicity are made possible. 
Rev. Carlton J. Williams of Sandwich, Illinois, has 
a church of 250 members. During one year 30,000 
pieces of printed matter were issued from the 


288 Church Administration 
mimeograph at a total cost of less than $50 for 
paper, ink, stencils, etc. 

The multigraph is a printing machine which uses 
type. Its original cost is more and the cost of oper- 
ating is more, but the work it turns out is of a 
higher class than that of the mimeograph. It 1s 
possible to use it for letterheads and other printing 
which needs distinction of type. The type sets on 
a rotary center and cuts are now available for this 
machine, making it possible to turn out a high-class 
job. Naturally, it requires more skill than the 
mimeograph, just as it is more effective. Any 
church in considering these printing devices should 
not alone look at the type of work they want but 
must also learn how they are to be operated when 
once installed. One advantage of the multigraph 
for letters is that it prints through a ribbon and 
the ribbon can match the typewriter ribbon. In this 
way the nearest approach to a typewritten letter 
may be secured. For form letters which need a 
personal appearance this is invaluable. The multi- 
graph comes in a small size, which is operated by 
hand, and in a large power-driven machine capable 
of taking care of the needs of the largest church. 

Here and there are churches which operate their 
own printing plants. There is still a distinction to 
good printing as contrasted with the other machines 
mentioned. The Church of Christ, Canton, Penn- 
sylvania, has a press on which it prints all church 
publicity, including the Sunday bulletin and The 
Canton Christian, a weekly, four-page paper. 
Rutherford H. Moore, formerly of the Methodist 
Church of Randolph, Vermont, who is a practical 
printer, operated one for the church there. Other 
instances are recorded from time to time. In both 








Efficiency Machines 289 





of these instances the plants were on a paying basis 
and both were under the direction of the pastors 
who were experienced printers. 

There may be a field here for a special work by 
boys or young men if there is a leader to direct their 
work for them. It is well to remember that print- 
ing is a trade, and one which requires considerable 
technique. No minister who is inexperienced should 
feel that there is an obligation upon him to install 
this kind of work. In most parishes the minister 
and the church would both be ahead if the printing 
were done in the trade plants and the minister put 
his extra energy into pushing his own parish activi- 
ties. ‘There is no obligation upon the minister to 
save the church some money at the expense of his 
own pastoral efficiency. Yet there are exceptions 
where a printing plant makes possible a fine piece of 
project work for a young men’s group, and where 
everybody may profit by its installation. It cer- 
tainly is a fine thing to have good printing at hand 
without having to pay the big prices of the trade. 
But in printing, as in most other things, it pays to 
invest in the best. 


THE DICTATING MACHINE 


The minister who uses the dictating machine is 
the exception, and still its use is broad enough to 
make its mention worth while. The machine, as 
most of you know, is a phonographic recording 
machine. A fresh cylinder is placed on it and in- 
stead of dictating to a stenographer the dictation 
is given the machine, the typist working out the 
letters at her leisure. 

Men who use this give as one of its important 


290 Church Administration 





features that they can dictate their sermons without 
the self-consciousness which is present when dic- 
tating toa person. Another reason is that the letter 
may be worked out when convenient for the typist, 
making it unnecessary for her to drop other work 
when the minister wants to get out his letters. And 
there is still another reason urged by William 
Bishop Gates of Olean, New York, which will ap- 
pear valid to most.of us. Most ministers do not 
have full-time secretaries. But there are typists in 
the congregation who are only too glad to give of 
their services. Through the use of the dictating 
machine the records can be made and then sent with 
the machine to be worked out when they have time. 


PROJECTION DEVICES 


We might well give an entire chapter to the use 
of projection apparatus for church and Sunday 
school but space decrees that it be placed in this 
chapter on mechanical assistants. The old “magic 
lantern,’ a novelty in my childhood, developed into 
the stereopticon which found widely accepted use. 
It still to-day, in its various forms, represents one 
of the greatest assets for church work. Its educa- 
tional value is unchallenged. With the years the 
art of producing suitable slides has developed until — 
the minister has at his disposal material of high 
character and true artistic value. 

While a few years ago the use of the projection 
apparatus was limited to the night or when a room 
could be pretty well darkened, one new phase of this 
development makes daylight projection possible. At 
one time slides were all made of glass, which was 
heavy and made transportation costly, but to-day 


Efficiency Machines 291 
eee 
machines use film rolls. The production has reached 
a place where pictures may be purchased at a cost 
not much larger than the rental figures of the old 
days. One ambitious company now advertises the 
international Sunday-school lessons on a film strip, 
making it possible to have every lesson up to date. 
Another new development is the device for making 
it possible to project opaque objects on the screen. 
Thus picture post-cards may be flashed on the 
screen. ‘This is also an aid in reducing the cost of 
projection service. Opaque objects, however, can- 
not be projected more than thirty feet and require 
a very strong light. 

Most communities to-day have electric service, 
and this, of course, is preferable for any projection 
service. The arc light is giving way to the high 
wattage mazda light, requiring less attention and 
silent in operation. Where electricity is not avail- 
able acetylene gas is a good substitute. Prest-O- 
Lite gas is a form of acetylene which may be secured 
in almost any community. Then there is the new 
development of a bulb which will work from the 
ordinary six-volt automobile battery. If the bat- 
tery is fully charged, it should give an evening’s 
_ entertainment satisfactorily. This is the cleanest 
and best substitute for electric power. 

The ease with which slides may be prepared for 
the stereopticon makes it a good project for special 
church meetings where reports are to be given. In 
the place of printed reports they may be shown on 
the screen. The simplest way is to take a glass slide 
and smoke it over a kerosene lamp or candle. Then 
any figures or letters may be scratched on it with a 
sharp pencil or a pin. A glass pencil or a china 
worker’s pencil, which can be obtained from most 


292 Church Administration 


stationers, may be used directly on the glass. A 
quill pen and india ink may also be used. By the 
use of thin parchment, typewritten messages can be 
put on the slides. This latter makes it possible to 
have an attractive slide which will convey any report 
or message desired. 

Any projector requires perfect focus for perfect 
work. The operator should take pains to see that 
he has his right adjustments before the lecture 
begins so that he may do justice to the subject. 
Here are a few rules taken from a manual by 
Alfred Roy Ehman which may be helpful. 


What is the Trouble 


When there is a blue shadow in the center of the 
screen? 
The light is too near the condensers. 
When a yellow shadow is evenly distributed 
around the margin? 
The light is too far back. 
When a shadow appears at the top of the screen? 
The light is set too low. 
When a shadow appears at the bottom of the 
screen? 
The light is set too high. 
When a shadow appears at the right of the 
screen? 
The light is set too far to the left. 
When a shadow appears at the left of the screen? 
The light is set too far to the right. 
When numerous ill-defined spots appear in the 
field or it has a mottled appearance? 
The condensers are dirty. 


Efficiency Machines 293 





When there is a general haze or foggy appear- 
ance over the fields? 
The objective is dirty. 
When lines in the picture are not sharply defined? 
The instrument is imperfectly focused. 


MOVING PICTURES 


Motion pictures are still somewhat in the ele- 
mentary stage as far as the church is concerned. 
While many churches have used them successfully, 
the “movies” have not the authority for church 
work which is recognized in the stereopticon. A 
good machine is expensive, it requires an expert 
operator, and theaters have developed the art until 
comparison is out of the question as far as enter- 
tainment is concerned. As a matter of fact the 
best films (we mean in craftsmanship) are not 
available outside of the theater field. 

The minister who decides to exploit this field must 
first of all choose between the narrow and standard 
gauge machines. The former uses a narrow, non- 
inflammable film, especially devised for educational 
and religious work. The machine is light, portable 
and requires no booth for operating. Its mechanism 
is simple and any intelligent person, after a little 
experience, can operate it. The material available 
for its use is, however, limited. 

There are now standard width machines which 
use non-inflammable film. As a rule this is very 
desirable for church use as it requires no special 
fireproof booth. The inflammable film is danger- 
ous. A booth must be provided for the machine. 
Your insurance rates go up as soon as one is in- 


294 Church Administration 





stalled. In most churches there is no room for a 
booth and a simpler arrangement is a necessity. 

There have been several attempts to supply 
churches with suitable films. I know of none which 
has been a I00 per cent success. Religious films 
have been produced but it takes more than a half 
dozen pictures to justify the investment in an ex- 
pensive motion-picture machine. It will have its use 
in the educational features of the church work as the 
stereopticon has but it is a question if the church 
can ever compete with the motion-picture house on 
its own ground—entertainment. But in Sunday 
school, men’s club and institutional work it will 
have its place. 


RADIO 


Ever alert to their opportunities, churches were 
among the first to avail themselves of the broad- 
casting privileges. Many churches installed their 
own outfits. This is an expensive proposition, cost- 
ing from one to fifteen thousand dollars, depending 
upon the quality of the installation. Other churches 
made arrangements for broadcasting through local 
stations at a lesser expense. Some churches had the 
entire privilege granted them for nothing, to have a 
religious program. 

Just as Iam writing this the whole radio program 
for religious services is unsettled. The air is 
crowded. Too many have tried to get in. The 
United States government is recognizing the fact 
that we cannot go on setting up stations. It is go- 
ing to be increasingly difficult to secure a license. 
Churches in on the broadcasting will not yield their 
position without reluctance. On the other hand, 


Efficiency Machines 295 








many stations are embarrassed by early agreements 
made with churches. 

Church broadcasting has not been a sticcess from 
the artistic point of view. Church auditoriums are 
not adapted for this work. Choirs which may be 
considered first class in the church do not reproduce 
accurately when put on the air. The minister in his 
talk is limited in his position and the variation of 
his tone. 

Neither is the average service of public worship 
adapted for broadcasting. It has been arranged 
with a different end in mind. It has been well said 
that one may listen to preaching over the radio, 
but that one cannot worship by radio. The play 
which comes over the air has been rewritten to suit 
the new method of transmission. The grand opera 
has been cut down. It is only the preacher who has 
not complied with the new requirements. It is this 
failure which is leading to a reaction distinctly un- 
friendly to the broadcasting of religious services. 
As a tule, the prayers and the sermons are too long 
and the appeal is too narrow. 

Of course, any church still has the right to seek 
a license for operating a broadcasting station. 
However, they will not readily be granted. Per- 
sonally I think the matter is one for the local fed- 
eration of churches as a problem in comity would 
be and that the question should be settled after 
considering the problem which is much larger than 
any one church. All branches of faith should be 
considered in rearranging the service. 


Amplification 


There is a species of radio, however, which can 
be used by many churches. It is voice amplification 


296 Church Administration 





in the church auditorium. By this means the min- 
ister’s voice is carried to every part of the audi- 
torium so that there are no silent pockets. There 
is a microphone for the pulpit or lectern, amplifica- 
tion apparatus in the basement and in various parts 
of the building the loud speakers. Many of the 
larger auditoriums are already supplied with this 
outfit, including the Cathedral of St. John the 
Divine, New York; First Methodist Church, Los 
Angeles; First Baptist Church, Dallas, and the 
Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago. 

Another variation of this, and a much simpler 
one, is the arrangement whereby the minister’s voice 
is carried to certain pews set aside for persons hard 
of hearing. These pews are equipped with ear- 
phones so that the service comes to them clear and 
loud. This is a comparatively cheaper arrange- 
ment. One church we know of found eight people 
who had difficulty in hearing willing to divide 
among them the expense for the installation. A 
trade name for this is the “acousticon.” 


THE ADDRESSING MACHINE 


The addressing machine will revolutionize the 
work of the church which is seeking to keep an up- 
to-date mailing list. I know of nothing which will 
pay for itself in so brief a time. It can be used not 
alone as a mechanical device but also as a file of 
names, making unnecessary some of the other files 
mentioned. 

Broadly there are two types of machines avail- 
able for church work. The Addressograph is a 
heavy serviceable machine which uses metal plates 
and prints through a ribbon. The name and address 


Efficiency Machines 297 


plates must be secured from the service plant of the 
manufacturer at a cost of a few cents for each 
change made. The top of each plate has a place for 
little tabs which furnish a reference index. 

Then there are machines which use stencil plates. 
These may be cut on the ordinary typewriter, thus 
reducing the cost of keeping correct addresses. 
What is saved in cost is lost, however, in imperfect 
impression. Either type of machine is serviceable 
and in a few minutes hundreds of envelopes or other 
matter may be properly addressed and sent on their 
way. 


BOOKKEEPING MACHINE 


In at least one church, First Congregational, 
Billings, Montana, there has been introduced a 
bookkeeping machine. That church is enthusiastic 
over it and possibly other churches will be interested. 
They will probably be commonly found in the church 
offices by the next generation. 





INDEX 


A 


Absentees, following the, 66. 
Accounting systems, 274 f. 
Addressing machines, 296. 
Advertising churches, 20. 
Amplification, 295. 

Art night service, the, 80. 
Associated advertising clubs, 


203. 
Automobiles, 88, 164. 
B 


Backus, Rev. A. H., 103. 

Bartlett, Rev. A. Eugene, 
146. 

Barton, Howard A., 224. 

Beaven, Rev. A. W., 166, 
181 

Boller, Rev. Paul F., 136. 

Bonding the treasurer, 281. 

Book sermons, 89. 

Bookkeeping machines, 297. 

Boy scouts, 169. 

Braunstein, Rev. 
195 

Brick Presbyterian Church, 
New York, 57. 

Brock, Rev. Thomas S., 39. 

Brotherhoods, 189 f. 

Budgets, 255 f. 

Bulletin and Evening Jour- 
nal (Providence), 206. 

Business temples, 19 f. 


Richard, 


e 


Cabinet, church, 17. 

Cabot, re, Henry Gs 27, 
Cadman, Dr. S. Parkes, 78. 
Calendars, 222. 

Calling, pastoral, 34. 
Church Finance, 13. 
Church night, 102. 

Church which was cursed (a 


program), go f. 


Christmas Carol Service, 
138. 

Church of Christ, Canton, 
Pa., 288; 

Clausen, Rev. Bernard C., 
FOOLS “150: 


Cloquet, Wis., church edi- 
torials, 208. 

Clubs and lodges, 41. 

Cochran, Rev. Harry cA: 
210, 213 f. 

Committees, 18. 

Comrades of the Way, 169. 

Congregation, counting the, 


Cross in Lenten Publicity, 
147 £. 


D 
Davies, Rev. James Ashton, 


45. 
Daily Vacation Bible School, 
160. 


299 








300 Church Administration 

Delaware Avenue Baptist Forbush, Rev. William R., 
Church, Syracuse, N. Y., 169. 
58. Fortnight watch, a, 123. 


Denominational polities, 14. 
Departmental Organization, 
16. 
Dictating machine, 289. 
Direct Mail Publicity, 223, 
237, 241, 245, 247, 263. 
“Don'ts” for the advertising 
preacher, 210 f. 

Dramas and Drama Preach- 
ing, 176. 

Duplicating devices, 286. 


E 


Easter call, 149 f. 

Echo singing, 79. 

Ehman, Alfred Roy, 292. 

Electrotype, 232. 

Ethical: code, 24 f. 

Evangelism, personal, 118. 

Evangelism, school of, 145. 

Evangelistic program, an, 
129, 

Evangelical Lutheran Hep- 
hatha Church, Milwaukee, 
266. 

Every-member canvass, 259. 

Executive methods, 21 f. 


EF 


Family religion, 1306. 

Federation of churches, 30. 

Financial secretary, 272. 

First Baptist Church, Syra- 
CUBE, ING a) 5) 

First Congregational Church, 
Waterloo, Iowa, 238. 

Flood lighting, 218. 


Forward Step Week, 124. 
Forum, the open, 86. 
Funeral, the, 38. 


G 
Gates, Rev. William Bishop, 


290. 

Geneva College, 179. 

Gilbert, Rev. Ralph V., 
187, 

Gordon, Rev. James L., 77. 

Grace Methodist Church, St. 
Johnsbury, Vt., 198. 

Graduates, keeping in touch 
with, 184. 

Group organization, 42. 

Guhse, Rev. Paul Herman, 
215 f. 


H 


Half-tones, 233. 

Handbooks, 219, 222. 

Harvest Festival, 135. 

Honor System in Church 
Finance, 260. 


I 


Invitation forms, 44. 


J 
Joash’s chest, 261. 
Jordan, Rev. Orvis F,, 
30 f. 


June, programs for, 158. 
Junior church, 168. 


si Na lt a Da ia ail aaa 


Index 


301 








K 


Kimball, Rev. 


169. 


Knights of King Arthur, 


169. 
L 


Layout, the, 227. 

‘Lay workers, 113, 122. 

Lectionary, a, 67 f. 

Lenten programs, 144 f. 

Leonard, Rev. John Calvin, 
170. 

Letters, testing, 248, 

Little, Rev. Raymond Ed- 
ward, 87. 


M 


Medlar, William H., 113. 
Members, dismissing, 33. 
Men, programs for, 189 f. 
Membership records, 45. 
Midweek service, 100 f., 195 
Mimeograph, the, 287. 
Missions, school of, 107. 
Mitchell, Rev. William C., 


46. 
Morgan, Rev. J. Richmond, 


155. 

Moore, Rev. Rutherford H., 
288. 

Mother’s day service, 82, 
Oe at Ps. 

Moving pictures, 293. 

Multigraph, the, 288. 


N 
New buildings, 265 f. 


Harry W., 


Newspaper space, 202, 205. 
O 


Oaken bucket, the old, 135. 

Office hours, 42. 

Offertory, The, 54 f. 

Orsborn, Rev. Charles Chris- 
tian, 43. 

Out-of-door service, 162. 

Outdoor advertising, 214. 

Overlapping, 15. 


ed 


“Pilgrim’s Progress,” IIT. 
Pastor, the place of the, 17. 
Pledge table, 270, 


Plymouth Congregational 
Church, Newark, Ohio, 
264. 


Presbyterian Church, Inde- 
pendence, Iowa, 248. 
Printed reports, 281. 
Printing presses, 288. 
Proctorship, the church, 176. 
Prodigal Son (dramatiza- 
tion), 84. 
Proofreading, 233 f. 
Projection devices, 290. 


Q 


Quarterly report cards, 277. 
Question box, 77, 106. 
Quotation sermons, 209. 


R 


Radio broadcasting, 294. 
Records, pastoral, 284. 
Referendum, the, 239. 


302 


Church Administration 





Reisner, Rev. Christian F., 
19, 215, 268. 

Retreat, officers, 119. 

Revival, the, 124 f. 

Rowsey, Rev. Elwood A., 
146. 

Russell, Rev. James Elmer, 


80, 195. 
S 


Safes and vaults, 285. 

Scotford, Rev. John 
173. 

Small town papers, 206. 

Stackhouse, Rev. Perry J., 
85. 

Stereotypes, 233. 

Stewardship (school of), 
108 f., 268. 

St. Matthew’s Methodist 
Episcopal Church, Phila- 
delphia, Pa., 249 f. 

Stidger, Rev. William L., 
COI MIOO Wal ot 

Straton, Rev. John Roach, 
187, 

Summer programs, 159, 163. 

Sunday evening tea, 172. 

Sunday-school evangelism, 
116, 


R., 


8 
Telephone, using the, 222, 


284. 
Third Presbyterian Church, 
Rochester, N. Y., 46. 
Three-hour devotional serv- 
ice, 152 f. 


Three-period session of 
church school, 166. 

Traveling men, reaching, 
197. 

Trout, ‘Rev. f. i Cees 

Types, various kinds, 228 f. 

Typewriter, 286. 


U 


Union label, 236. 
Universal week of prayer, 


144. 
Ushering, 61. 
V 
Victrola evening, 89. 
W 


Wayside pulpit, 215. 

Watch night service, 141 f. 

White gift Christ, 1309. 

Window cards, 221. 

Williams, Rev. Carlton, J., 
287. 

Williams, Rev. R. Murphey, 
262. 

Working schedule for min- 
ister, 36. 

Worship, service of, 52 f. 


ov 
Young people’s night, 172. 
Z 


Zinc etching, 232. 


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